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The Citizen reports that a Northern Cape teacher who resigned from her job, alleging hostile working conditions, has failed in her attempt to return to work after the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) ruled that her resignation had been voluntary.
Petronella Johnson resigned from her post at Deben Primary School in Kathu on 23 January 2023. She later approached the ELRC, seeking to have her departure declared as an unfair dismissal and requesting 12 months’ compensation. Johnson told the ELRC that although she got along with most colleagues and pupils, three staff members, namely deputy principal Jennifer Louw, a Mr Locky and a Ms Wagenaar, made her working environment “intolerable”. She claimed Mr Locky twice locked her inside the school premises after hours, forcing her to seek help on one occasion and to break the lock on another. She reported the incidents to the school’s principal, Aobakwe Sebolai, who raised the matter at a staff meeting, but no action was taken. She claimed she would not have left if those and other incidents had not occurred.
Sebolai, however, testified that Johnson had never submitted any formal or informal grievance prior to her resignation. ELRC arbitrator Selolong Mosoma noted Johnson carried the responsibility of proving that she had been constructively dismissed. He found no proof that Johnson had been targeted or punished unfairly and said there was no evidence of singling her out or punishment. Mosoma also highlighted that Johnson resigned without first lodging a grievance and failed to explain why she did not pursue internal remedies. The council ruled that Johnson “resigned out of her own volition” and dismissed her claim.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Molefe Seeletsa at The Citizen
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