Union members wait over 10 yrs for labour case
A group of 52 dismissed plantation workers in Tzaneen is furious after the CEPPWAWU seemingly failed to inform them about the outcome of an unfair dismissal case for nearly 10 years.
LIMPOPO – Last week, the workers told CV that every time they visited the local offices of the union to seek explanation they were told that the case against Tzaneen Treated Timbers is still in the Labour Appeal Court.
Recently, the workers sent a second delegation to CEPPWAWU’s headquarters in Johannesburg to seek answers, but without success.
“We are all poor and uneducated and we don’t know much about the law, but can a court take almost 10 years to reach a judgement? In fact, we are now starting to doubt if the case was ever reported at all,” said one of the workers, John Nyalungu.
In 2008, the workers were employed by Tzaneen Treated Timbers when they embarked on a protected strike under the banner of CEPPWAWU demanding a 20% wage increase while the employer offered a five percent adjustment.
The workers were dismissed after the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) failed to resolve the matter.
A case of unfair dismissal was reportedly opened in the Labour Court and a few months later, the workers were overjoyed when union officials informed them that the employer has lost the case.
“We expected to go back to work but our joy soon turned to sadness when we were told that the employer has appealed the decision,” said Nyalungu, adding that they have been waiting for the decision of the Labour Appeal Court for 10 years now.
The married father of three was part of a delegation that recently travelled to the CEPPWAWU headquarters in Johannesburg with the hopes of getting satisfactory answers from the union bosses.
“We contributed money for transport and accommodation. When we arrived there, we received the shock of our lives.
“The union didn’t even have the case number and our request to meet the national general secretary was denied. We came back disappointed, empty-handed and more confused,” he said.
A former shop steward, Isaac Khosa, confirmed that the union has failed to give them feedback, adding that some of the workers are sick and dying and their impoverished families are desperate to know the outcome of the case.
“It is very sad because we are unable to move on with our lives while this case is supposed to be pending. What the workers want is not compensation or reinstatement, but the truth. Why is the union giving us the run around about this case? What are they hiding from us?” he asked.
Attempts to get comment from CEPPWAWU’s General Secretary, Simon Mofokeng, were unsuccessful.
