30 years’ service, a lost job and payout: Numsa criticised over abandoning ex-worker’s case
Sibonakaliso Simon Zwane was fired by Eagle Spring Manufacturers over a decade ago without pre-dismissal hearing.
In a recent ruling, the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg ordered the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) to compensate former factory worker Sibonakaliso Simon Zwane for 12 months of salary with interest. The court found that Numsa had breached its mandate in handling Zwane's case, specifically by failing to pursue his challenge against the termination of his employment.
Zwane, a long-serving employee at Eagle Spring Manufacturers, a motor vehicle parts manufacturer in Soweto, had spent over three decades working for the company before his dismissal in 2016. His employment ended after a dispute over the recording of employees' working hours escalated into a confrontation with management.
Despite challenging his dismissal internally, Zwane's appeal was unsuccessful. He then took the matter to arbitration, where Eagle Spring offered to compensate him with an amount equivalent to 12 months of his salary, but refused to reinstate him. Numsa then took the case to the Labour Court, filing a review application to overturn the arbitration outcome.
However, the review application was withdrawn in July 2020 due to difficulties in obtaining the arbitration record. Numsa did not oppose the withdrawal. In the high court, Zwane alleged that Numsa had failed to fulfil its obligations to him. The court agreed, criticising Numsa for not handling the case in accordance with its mandate.
Judge Stuart Wilson found that Numsa had not acted "faithfully, honestly and with care and diligence". He also noted that Numsa had admitted to allowing the review application to fail, despite being able to continue with it. The court found that the review application may have succeeded, as the arbitrator had failed to properly consider an important aspect of Zwane's case - the lack of a pre-dismissal hearing.
Taking into account Zwane's 30-year employment history and the procedural unfairness in his dismissal, the court ordered Numsa to pay him 12 months of salary, along with interest.
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