Sactwu wins 10 month battle for reinstatement of unfairly dismissed members

Date: 19 June 2020

Media Release: Immediate

SACTWU WINS 10 MONTH BATTLE FOR REINSTATEMENT OF UNFAIRLY DISMISSED MEMBERS

The COSATU-affiliated Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU) has won a 10 month battle for the reinstatement of 3 members who were unfairly dismissed in August last year. They were employees of MM Manufacturers, a clothing company in Phuthaditjhaba.

The workers were dismissed after they had declined to sign employment contracts which their employer had tried to enforce on them, without the agreement of the trade union.

The background is as follows:

Before the workers were issued the new employment contracts, a meeting was held between the shop stewards, the union Organiser, the employer and the legal representatives of the employer. It was agreed in that meeting that the employer’s legal representatives would draw up the draft employment contracts, and that it would then be sent to the union for checking. It was further agreed that thereafter the parties would jointly explain the new contracts to workers before signature thereof.

However this did not happen. The employer handed out the new contracts to workers unilaterally, and told them to return it as signed the next day, failing which they would be regarded as dismissed. Upon returning to work on the next day, the three workers did not sign the contracts and were then advised by the employer that they were accordingly dismissed. These members had declined to sign the contracts, as the agreed procedure had not been followed.

SACTWU had declared a dispute, and the matter was eventually arbitrated under the auspices of the Clothing Industry Bargaining Council. We have earlier this week received the arbitration award, which was in our favour.

The Arbitrator has ruled that the workers were unfairly dismissed as the agreement of when and how the workers should sign the contracts were not adhered to by the employer. The arbitration award rules that the workers be fully reinstated and paid back pay from the date of their dismissal in August 2019. The workers are set to return to work on June 30 2020.

We hope that this serves as a warning to employers not to act in breach of agreements reached with trade unions, and not to unilaterally force workers to sign employment contracts.

Issued by
André Kriel
General Secretary
SACTWU

For further comment contact SACTWU’s Tshepo on 061 485 4243.