LOEMFONTEIN – The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) has announced it is taking further legal action to compel the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) to fully comply with a Labour Court order regarding the takeover of the Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein, effective from yesterday, 1 July.
Free State POPCRU secretary Sibongile Ramahlokoane said the union instructed its legal team to file urgent court papers after learning through social media that the takeover of the centre had taken place at midnight.
The facility was subsequently renamed the Grootvlei Maximum Correctional Centre. This is the prison where convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester, known as Facebook Rapist, escaped on 3 May 2022 with the assistance of selected officials.
National Commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale reportedly oversaw the transition, which brought an end to the 25-year public-private partnership (PPP) between the department, Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts (BCC) and security firm G4S. The partnership officially ended yesterday, 30 June.
Ramahlokoane said that, further to the union’s dismay, about 500 workers affiliated with the union were locked out and denied access to the facility when reporting for duty this morning. Dozens were caught off guard and forced to stand outside in the cold by the gate of the facility, while others were seen queuing along the R702.
The new name appeared at the entrance to the facility and is now known as the Grootvlei Maximum Correctional Centre. PHOTO: Teboto Setena.
Ramahlokoane explained that the department’s action was a direct violation of the Labour Court order, which stipulates that Section 197 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) applies to the transfer, including the absorption of workers who had been employed at the centre since June 2001. The department proceeded without giving effect to the rights and protections of affected workers as required by law.
“We are in the process of filing papers with our lawyers against the department for contempt of court. Our members will be represented by our legal team and POPCRU. We are saying National Commissioner must be arrested. We have learned through social media that the handover was a flawless exercise,” she said.
Ramahlokoane added: “The department is heartless. How can it lock out people who served this correctional centre for more than 25 years? These are human beings, and these members of POPCRU have families they need to provide for.”
She is confident justice will prevail. “We believe in justice. Our members should get their jobs back as mandated by the Labour Court order under Section 197 of the LRA,” she said.
POPCRU, together with G4S, previously approached the Labour Court seeking a declaratory order that Section 197 of the Labour Relations Act — which ensures that existing employees are transferred to the department — applies to the takeover. This was necessary because the department had sought to proceed with the takeover of the Mangaung Correctional Centre without giving effect to the rights and protections of affected workers as required by law.
Editor’s note: The department postponed a media briefing, initially scheduled for 1 July, at which it was expected to provide an explanation about the transition. A new date is yet to be confirmed.
Brandon George, chairperson of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu). Photo: Facebook/Samwu
The industrial action was due to resume on Tuesday after the union and the municipality failed to reach an agreement.
The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) in Msunduzi has temporarily suspended the planned resumption of its wage strike.
The industrial action, which had been put on hold last week, was due to resume on Tuesday after the union and the municipality failed to reach an agreement.
However, the union has decided to extend the suspension of the strike while further engagements continue.
Union chairperson in Msunduzi, Brandon George, told The Witness on Tuesday that a last-minute decision was taken to drop the resumption following a meeting between the union representative and Msunduzi troika on Monday.
George said the meeting has given the employees an undertaking that a special council meeting would be held on Wednesday to consider several of the workers’ outstanding demands.
The industrial action, which has disrupted service delivery across the city for nearly three weeks, saw refuse collection grind to a halt in many areas, leaving waste piling up and raising concerns about public health, sanitation and the municipality’s ability to provide essential services.
Although the union had planned to resume the strike on Tuesday, it announced on Monday that the action would remain suspended after fresh engagements with municipal leadership.
At the heart of the dispute is the union’s demand that all general assistants be regraded from salary level T3 to T7, arguing that workers were not being fairly compensated for the duties they perform.
The union has also raised concerns over salary disparities and has called for the municipality to conclude a long-awaited job evaluation process to ensure equitable grading across affected positions.
George said the South African Local Government Association (Salga) had advised that the municipality appoint Deloitte to oversee the grading and job evaluation process, a development the union views as progress towards resolving the dispute.
“We met with the municipal troika and received assurances that a special council meeting will deal with some of our issues, including the salary dispute,” said George.
We see this as a positive outcome from our engagements with the employer.
He acknowledged that no final decision could be taken without approval from the full council but expressed optimism that Wednesday’s meeting would bring the standoff to an end.
The suspension of the strike is expected to allow municipal workers to return to their duties and begin clearing the backlog of uncollected refuse while restoring other essential services.
Labour Appeal Court reinstates Woolworths supervisor over dismissal for ‘dumb’ remark. Image: Ai-Generated
A long-serving Woolworths supervisor who was dismissed for referring to cashiers as “dumb” has won her job back after the Labour Appeal Court in Durban ruled that the dismissal was excessively harsh for a single workplace remark.
Arunachellam, who had worked for the retailer for 28 years and held a supervisory position at the La Lucia Mall branch in Durban, was fired after allegedly describing till operators as “dumb” during a conversation with trainees and another employee in March 2019.
Although Arunachellam denied using the word and maintained that she had referred to staff as “confused” rather than “dumb”, the court upheld earlier findings that she had in fact used the offending term.
The Labour Appeal Court found that the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) commissioner who upheld the dismissal had failed to perform a crucial part of the fairness inquiry by not considering whether termination of employment was proportionate to the offence.
Acting Judge G N Moshoana together with judges Maletsatsi Mahalelo and van Niekerk JA concurring, said commissioners dealing with unfair dismissal disputes are legally obliged to determine not only whether misconduct occurred, but also whether dismissal is an appropriate punishment.
“The issue of substantive unfairness involves two legs,” the judgment said: whether the employee committed the misconduct and whether dismissal was an appropriate sanction for it.
The court criticised the commissioner for stating in the arbitration award that he had not been asked to consider the appropriateness of dismissal.
The judgment described this as factually incorrect, noting that the severity of the sanction had been explicitly raised during arbitration proceedings and that challenges to substantive fairness almost invariably include a challenge to dismissal as punishment.
The court found that the commissioner had effectively deferred to Woolworths’ disciplinary decision without independently assessing its fairness, amounting to a reviewable irregularity.
Arunachellam’s lengthy service and clean disciplinary record featured prominently in the court’s reasoning.
The judges noted that she had worked for the retailer for nearly three decades without incident and that there was no evidence she had a history of using offensive or abusive language in the workplace.
The court also rejected attempts to compare the incident with cases involving racist insults or language carrying racial overtones.
While Woolworths had argued that the comments damaged workplace relationships and pointed to previous dismissals for derogatory remarks, the court found that the examples provided involved racially charged language and were not comparable.
Importantly, the judges observed that the employees allegedly described as “dumb” were not present when the remark was made and therefore did not hear it themselves.
“It cannot be said that their feelings were hurt,” the court said, adding that claims of offence by those who overheard the remark had been exaggerated.
The judgment further found that Woolworths’ own disciplinary code contemplated progressive discipline rather than dismissal for a first offence of this nature.
It was further noted that the labour law generally favours corrective and progressive discipline, particularly for employees with long service and clean records.
The court concluded that a final written warning, rather than dismissal, was the appropriate response.
“The appropriate sanction to have been imposed for the offence of using the word ‘dumb’ is that of issuing the appellant with a final written warning valid for twelve months,” the judgment stated.
While the Labour Court had previously found the dismissal procedurally unfair and awarded Arunachellam three months’ compensation, the Labour Appeal Court overturned that finding, ruling that the disciplinary process had been procedurally fair.
The ultimate result was that Arunachellam’s dismissal was held to be procedurally fair but substantively unfair because the punishment did not fit the misconduct.
The supervisor was reinstated retrospectively to 6 May 2019. The order carries retrospective backpay from that date unless varied by agreement or a later court order.
Trade union federation COSATU is calling for an urgent investigation into the circumstances of the tragic bus crash that took place on the N1 near Touwsrivier this morning.
The accident claimed the lives of 16 people and left several others injured.
Federation spokesperson Malvern de Bruyn says they extend their sincere condolences to the families….
The Constitutional Court ruled that the sale of the Tafelberg site by the Western Cape government was unlawful and unconstitutional because of inadequate public participation.
Activists march at the Sea Point Methodist Church following the Constitutional Court’s judgment on the Tafelberg school sale matter. Picture: Mihle George/EWN
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in the Western Cape said that “heads must roll” and those responsible for the sale of the Tafelberg site must be held accountable.
The call comes after Thursday’s Constitutional Court ruling that the sale of the Tafelberg site by the Western Cape government was unlawful and unconstitutional due to inadequate public participation.
COSATU said the ruling is a victory for the right to adequate housing, which it said should have been built on the site.
The Constitutional Court found the Western Cape government wanting when it came to meaningful public participation in the decision to sell a former school in Cape Town’s seaside suburb of Sea Point, declaring the decision unconstitutional.
COSATU labelled the ruling a “monumental victory” for the fundamental right to adequate housing, which the federation has advocated for.
Provincial secretary Malvern de Bruyn said the judgment rejects the view that treats public land as mere commercial assets.
He said action must be taken against those responsible for the sale.
“COSATU Western Cape is, therefore, calling for full accountability. Heads must roll. The officials and political office bearers who pushed this unlawful sale against all legal advice and public sentiment must face consequences.”
The City of Cape Town’s Carl Pophaim, Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, said much has happened over the last eight years.
“The city is also supporting various province-led affordable housing projects in central Cape Town totalling thousands of units, including at 353 on Main [the Tafelberg site]”.
He said the city also faced a major funding crisis during the period.
‘GAME-CHANGING’ AFFORDABLE HOUSING PLAN
The City of Cape Town said it looks forward to the opportunity to update the Constitutional Court on its plans for affordable housing.
Pophaim said while the city was not involved in the sale, it is addressing the issue of affordable housing.
He said the metro is also supporting various province-led affordable housing projects in central Cape Town, including the Tafelberg site.
“While others have debated the principles of spatial justice, Cape Town has delivered it. We look forward to the opportunity update the court on our game-changing programme on affordable housing and the progress we have made.”
