Trade Union, Amcu, has lost an appeal at the Constitutional Court where it was challenging the fairness of Section 189 sub-section 1 of the Labour Relations Act. The section allows employers to extend a retrenchment agreement entered into with a majority union to all workers in the company, including members of a minority union.
Amcu brought the application after 174 of its members were retrenched at the Royal Bafokeng Platinum mine in Rustenburg in 2015.
Amcu was a minority union at the mine and the employer extended a retrenchment agreement entered into with the National Union of Mineworkers and UASA to its members as well. The union approached the Constitutional Court after losing at both the Labour Court and the Labour Appeals Court.
Justice Chris Jafta dismissed the appeal.
“The fourth judgment deliberate on the explanation given and the second judgment on as to why this court should refrain from adjudicating the alleged limitations of the rights in Sections 91 and 18 of the constitution. The following order is made leave to appeal is granted. Two, the appeal is dismissed.”
READ THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT JUDGEMENT BELOW:
Judgment: The hierarchy during the retrenchment consultation process set out in section 189(1) of the Labour Relations Act does not limit the constitutional right to fair labour practices and is therefore constitutionally valid. (AMCU v Royal Bafokeng Platinum Limited) pic.twitter.com/WrWHiw8Spq
— Constitutional Court (@ConCourtSA) January 23, 2020
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