IOL Business reports that the Labour Court in Cape Town has refused to overturn a decision that the dismissal of some 15 employees by SA Steelworks, a division of SA Metal, was procedurally fair.
The employees, known as the Blue team, were dismissed in January 2019 after refusing to work a new shift system introduced by the company in the Melt Shop, which operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Members of the Blue Team faced disciplinary charges including unauthorised absence, breach of company policy, and gross insubordination. The company had consulted employees over several months and introduced a new system aimed at reducing injuries and absenteeism, while giving staff more rest between shifts. Intending to follow the old roster, the employees refused to work on 11 and 12 January 2019 without notifying the employer and in breach of company policy.
In arbitration proceedings before the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council, the dismissals were found to have been both procedurally and substantively fair. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Workers (AMCU) challenged that finding in the Labour Court. The union argued that the arbitrator had failed to properly consider factors such as the employees’ length of service, whether dismissal was a proportionate sanction, and whether the employees genuinely believed the new shifts were unlawful. The Labour Court rejected these arguments and found that the employees’ actions had constituted gross insubordination and that dismissal was a fair and appropriate sanction that was grounded in the evidence
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nicola Mawson at IOL Business
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