Nine fired mineworkers accused of an illegal picket got their jobs back as the labour court could not determine if they were celebrating an upcoming wedding or were in fact picketing.
Was it a wedding song and dance rehearsal or an unlawful picket?
In the case of nine mineworkers who were fired for engaging in unlawful picketing during lunch, the Johannesburg Labour Court was asked this crucial question.
The workers turned to the court in a bid to get their jobs back and maintained that they were merely rehearsing for their colleague’s upcoming wedding. The dispute was initially referred to the CCMA, but the latter found it lacked jurisdiction to arbitrate the dispute on the basis that it was a strike-related matter and referred it to the labour court.
The labour union Amco, which represented the workers, said their dismissal by the company they had worked for, Fraser Alexander Ltd, was unfair. The company, on the other hand, argued that the employees were dismissed for misconduct in the form of illegal picketing. The workers were busy with work which was subcontracted to their employer when the drama unfolded.
