The Labour Court rules against a R1 million settlement for dismissed officials in Correctional Services.
The courts should not be expected to clean up the mistakes made by government departments when it comes to their internal affairs, the Labour Court said in coming to the rescue of the Department of Correctional Services.
The Labour Court, Johannesburg, had set aside an agreement the department had reached with three of its officials. It entailed paying them more than R1 million in backpay after they were fired.
The problem, however, was that a functionary of the department entered into the agreement without first consulting the finance department regarding the agreement.
The Labour Court overturned the agreement because the money offered to the three officials formed part of the public purse, and prior permission must be obtained from the finance department before it could be dished out.
