Court rejects reinstatement of employee dismissed for racist behaviour. Image: Ai-Generated
The Labour Court in Cape Town has reviewed and set aside a Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) award that ordered the reinstatement of an employee dismissed for racist conduct.
Acting Judge Cecily-Ann Daniels ruled that the CCMA commissioner had misconstrued the inquiry by sanitising admitted workplace racism as mere “insensitivity,” leading to an entirely unreasonable outcome.
The legal battle involved Full Circle Contact Centre Services (Pty) Ltd, trading as Capita South Africa, and its former team leader, Shaun Williamson. Williamson was dismissed in April 2023 following a series of serious complaints from his team members regarding racially discriminatory remarks and unprofessional behavior.
During his employment as a team leader overseeing roughly fifteen call center agents, several team members raised explicit grievances regarding Williamson’s conduct. The formal disciplinary charges revealed deeply problematic actions.
Among the details brought to light, Williamson openly discussed possible team-building activities but stated his team could not meet at his house because his dog, named “Hitler,” was specifically trained to bark at and bite black people. He further recounted finding it amusing when the same dog chased a black child in the street.
In addition to the remarks about his dog, Williamson was found to have compared the multitasking capabilities of Black and Coloured employees in explicitly racial terms, stating he was sure a “black lady” would say no to multitasking while a “coloured girl” would say yes.
He also vocalised his discomfort at previously having reported to an African female manager due to both her race and gender and frequently dismissed black team members’ behavior as a “black thing”.
Following an internal disciplinary hearing, Williamson was found guilty of discrimination based on race and gender, as well as conduct unbecoming of a manager, resulting in his summary dismissal. He subsequently challenged his termination at the CCMA, arguing that dismissal was too harsh for a first offense.
At the CCMA arbitration, the commissioner declared that while Williamson had been “insensitive to the feelings of black people in his team,” the conduct did not warrant dismissal.
The commissioner emphasised that Williamson had shown remorse by apologising during the arbitration and noted that two team members testified they would have accepted an apology.
Consequently, the CCMA ordered Capita South Africa to retrospectively reinstate Williamson and award him over R57,000 in back pay.
Capita South Africa immediately launched an application in the Labour Court to review and set aside the award.
In evaluating the arbitration award, Judge Daniels delivered a stern rebuke of the CCMA commissioner’s reasoning, noting that racism requires a firm and unapologetic response from the judiciary.
The court stressed that whether conduct is racist must be evaluated objectively based on whether a reasonable, informed person would perceive it as derogatory.
The judge pointed out that the commissioner completely ignored critical concessions made by Williamson himself during cross-examination at the arbitration, where the employee explicitly admitted that his comments regarding his dog were not merely “insensitive,” but were “offensive” and constituted overt racism.
By treating admitted racism as minor insensitivity, the commissioner failed to grasp the nature of the inquiry and sanitised behavior that directly assaulted the dignity of the black workforce.
Given South Africa’s history, including the historical use of dogs against black people and the horrific connotations of the name “Hitler,” the court ruled that no reasonable decision-maker could have concluded that dismissal was an inappropriate sanction.
Furthermore, the court clarified that a face-saving apology offered months down the line at an arbitration hearing does not constitute genuine remorse capable of overturning a fair dismissal, particularly when the company’s disciplinary code prescribes dismissal for first-time discrimination offenses.
The South African Medical Association Trade Union (SAMATU) is calling on the government to urgently employ unemployed doctors, saying the country’s public health system remains critically understaffed despite qualified professionals being available.
“SAMATU unequivocally supports and aligns with all efforts that seek to ensure the employment of many South African unemployed doctors who currently languish at home in despair, desperate for an opportunity to practice their profession.”SAMATU stands firm in the belief that all doctors legally in the country, passionately serving our people, must do so in line with the enabling legislation and must remain protected under the law.”The country needs more doctors, and we must start by employing all the unemployed doctors without delay, failing which will be the perpetuation of injustice to the whole nation.”This issue of unemployment of doctors and healthcare workers, by and large, is really unwarranted and undesirable to the whole community. What we see is that the government has been very sluggish in its efforts to deal with this problem.
“We still have about 1,400 doctors; it’s now July, they’re still sitting at home, and we find that to be unacceptable. We believe that all doctors who are in the country and those who are unemployed must be employed.”
Sihlangu rejected claims that budget constraints are the main obstacle, arguing that funding for doctors is allocated but is often redirected by provinces to other priorities.The union is urging the government to prioritise the employment of unemployed doctors, warning that continued delays undermine healthcare delivery and leave qualified medical professionals without work while communities continue to face staff shortages.
“A couple of weeks ago in Parliament, when responding to questions, the Minister of Finance indicated that money has been allocated for the employment of doctors. However, when the money lands in the provinces, the provinces deal with it as they deem fit in terms of the equitable share, and they repurpose that money for other issues that they deem important.
“Unfortunately, this therefore perpetuates this problem of chronic, perennial unemployment when the money actually arrives in the provinces, but it’s not utilised for that purpose. So, the whole narrative of fiscal constraint and budget deficit, we hear that, but the government itself, if you look at what the Finance Minister is saying and what is happening in the provinces, they’re speaking in two different corners of the amounts.”Clearly, there’s no one willing and prepared to take accountability for health delivery in this country. The current government is not showing any signs that it’s really determined to take real decisions when it comes to health in this country. I think it will come to a stage where it is the citizens of this country that will have to decide what should happen to a government that doesn’t take it seriously.”
[FILE] De Blasio, a Democrat, said he had asked the White House for an additional 1 000 nurses, 300 respiratory therapists and 150 doctors by April 5 but had yet to receive an answer from the Trump administration. Image Credits : REUTERS
The South African Medical Association Trade Union (SAMATU) has called on government to immediately employ hundreds of unemployed South African doctors, saying the public health system remains understaffed despite the availability of qualified local professionals.
The union says employing unemployed doctors is necessary to reduce pressure on public hospitals and address what it describes as an injustice against local medical graduates.
The call follows concerns raised by ActionSA over the Gauteng Department of Health’s reported annual expenditure of more than R612 million on foreign healthcare professionals.
SAMATU General Secretary Dr Cedric Sihlangu says local doctors should be prioritised for employment while recognising that all legally employed healthcare professionals must be protected under the law.
Sihlangu says, “We see the dire state of health care in the country, warrants government to take immediate action in prioritising the employment of these young professionals in order to definitely ease the burden in the already understaffed public health facilities. Therefore SAMATU of course stands firm in the belief that all doctors who are legally in the country, and passionately serving our people must do so in line with the enabling legislation, and they must remain protected under the law. The country needs more doctors, and we must start by employing all the unemployed doctors without delay.”
ActionSA says a written reply by Gauteng Health MEC for Health and Wellness Faith Mazibuko revealed that the department has budgeted R612.7 million for the 2026/27 financial year to employ foreign healthcare professionals.
According to the party, the department currently employs 551 foreign nationals, including specialists, doctors, nurses and clinical technicians, while many qualified South African doctors remain unemployed.
ActionSA says it respects the contribution of legally employed foreign professionals in areas where specialised skills are needed, but argues that unemployed South African healthcare workers should be prioritised for available posts.
The party has called for a phased plan to absorb local doctors into permanent positions, an audit of the employment records of foreign healthcare professionals, and a review of the department’s personnel budget to increase funding for local medical officer posts.
R612 million every year.
That is what Gauteng Health spends on foreign staff, while South African doctors and nurses remain unemployed.
As ActionSA, we will continue fighting for local healthcare professionals to be given the dignity of work and the chance to serve their…
Employees gathered outside the entrance to Casa-Mia Biscuit Manufacturing, demanding improved working conditions and submitting a memorandum of demands to management.
Employees are demanding improved working conditions, alleging excessive working hours, inadequate benefits and unfair treatment by management.
Employees of Casa-Mia Biscuit Manufacturing staged a protest outside the company’s premises at 43 Jesmond Avenue, Nancefield, on Monday, July 13, alleging unfair labour practices.
When Soweto Urban arrived at the scene, workers were protesting peacefully outside the factory. However, a Vision Tactical security official alleged that some protesters had damaged the entrance gate.
The workers agreed to speak to the media on condition of anonymity, saying they feared victimisation.
One worker from Slovo Park, who said he has been employed by the company for more than two years, alleged that employees work 12-hour shifts from 6am to 6pm, seven days a week, with only a 30-minute lunch break and one 15-minute tea break.
Police officers and private security personnel monitored the protest outside Casa-Mia Biscuit Manufacturing in Nancefield as workers demonstrated over alleged unfair labour practices.
He further alleged that their hourly rates are not stipulated in their employment contracts.
“The contract states that we will work 12 hours on weekdays. However, since I started, I have been working from Monday to Sunday without any rest days,” he said.
Another worker from Pimville alleged that employees are denied labour benefits they believe they are entitled to.
“We do not have UIF and a provident fund. We just work. I’ve been with the company for over a year. Our agreement was 12 hours from Monday to Friday, but we are forced to work on weekends as well.”
The same worker also alleged that South African employees had been dismissed and replaced with migrant workers because, according to him, they were less likely to complain about working conditions.
“They are treating us like we are foreigners.”
A group of workers told Soweto Urban they were demanding what they believe are fair labour practices.
“We want our lunch break increased to one hour and our tea break to 30 minutes. We want to know how much our hourly rate is. We stand on our feet for 12 hours and, on top of that, our supervisors mistreat us. We do not have employment contracts; we were made to sign only a job description form.”
The workers also alleged that they receive payslips only on request.
“It takes at least three weeks to get your payslip after requesting it. When you take that payslip to the bank or to apply for credit at a shop, they tell you it appears to be a draft and cannot be accepted.”
They further alleged that they are required to perform duties outside their job descriptions.
“We do not get paid our full amounts, there is no night shift allowance, and we do not have annual leave or sick leave. We are verbally suspended without receiving written warnings. UIF is deducted on our payslips; however, we believe we are not registered with the Department of Employment and Labour.”
Another worker alleged that they were dismissed after missing work to visit a clinic, despite submitting a doctor’s sick note.
The workers submitted a memorandum of demands, which was received and signed by Casa-Mia HR representative Poppy Ramosina.
Ramosina told the workers she would present the memorandum to management.
An increase in hourly wages or a minimum daily wage of R400, as well as a night shift allowance
Registration for UIF
Regular payslips
A review of working hours
Medical aid
Pension fund benefits
Rest days and paid leave
Permanent employment contracts
Personal protective equipment
Paid sick leave upon submission of a valid medical certificate
The workers said they would not return to work until they received a formal response to their demands.
They said they expected management’s response on Wednesday, July 15.
Soweto Urban attempted to obtain comment from Casa-Mia. However, security personnel denied the media access to the premises while Ramosina was escorted inside. Casa-Mia had not responded to Soweto Urban’s request for comment at the time of publication.
The NUM says this decision threatens the livelihoods of 1 134 permanent employees at the Ventia mine and a further 80 employees at DBSSSA.
The union says it is deeply disturbed by how the management at De Beers communicated this decision, adding that the company attempted to portray it as a sudden and unavoidable crisis when, NUM argues, the company had long been aware of the challenges facing the diamond industry.
“Workers cannot be treated as disposable tools that are discarded whenever companies face economic pressures. De Beers has known about the challenges confronting the diamond market for a long time.
“It is therefore disingenuous to present this announcement as a sudden crisis. Workers and their trade union should have been engaged honestly and transparently long before a Section 189A notice was issued,” says NUM national health and safety secretary and diamond sector chief negotiator Masibulele Naki.
He added that workers should not be the first to face wage cuts or layoffs, especially given that staff salaries are not the reason for the company’s financial struggles.
The NUM has demanded that De Beers and DBSSSA urgently consider viable alternatives such as retraining and skilling programmes, temporary job preservation measures, a reduction in non-essential expenditure and a comprehensive review of executive and management costs.
The NUM also calls on South Africa‘s departments of Mineral and Petroleum Resources and Employment and Labour, organised labour and all key stakeholders to intervene urgently to protect jobs at Venetia and DBSSSA.
