CCT128/11

[2012] ZACC 19

2012 (6) SA 249 (CC)

2012 (11) BCLR 1177 (CC)

[2012] 12 BLLR 1193 (CC)

(2012) 33 ILJ 2549 (CC)

Yacoob ADCJ Majority judgment

Maya J minority judgment

21 September 2012

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12144/3667

Application for leave to appeal against the judgment of the SCA: Equity Aviation Services (Pty) Ltd v South African Transport and Allied Workers Union and Others 2012 (2) SA 177 (SCA). See also earlier judgments of the Labour Court: SATAWU and Another v Equity Aviation Services (Pty) Ltd [2006] 11 BLLR 1115 (LC) and Labour Appeal Court: Equity Aviation Services (Pty) Ltd v SATAWU [2009] 10 BLLR 933 (LAC).

Application for leave to appeal against a judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeal finding that section 64(1)(b) of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (LRA) requires a strike notice to be given by or on behalf of every intending striker, and that a union notice of intention to commence strike action does not cover non-union employees. The majority held that the right to strike and the specific purpose of the notice provision in the LRA required nothing more than 48 hours’ notice in advance of a strike – given by any party intending to join the strike. Further this interpretation conforms to the spirit, purport and objects of the Bill of Rights. The minority held that there is no reason to interfere with the decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal. The purpose of a strike notice is to give the employer an indication of which employees intend to strike, to prepare for the impending power play. Therefore it is essential that a strike notice indicates who is covered. The strike notice here did not comply since non-unionised employees were not mentioned. The minority judgment concluded that leave to appeal should be granted, but that the appeal must fail. The majority judgment granted leave to appeal and upheld the appeal. The majority declared that the dismissal of the individual applicants (non-union employees) was automatically unfair in terms of section 187(1)(a) of the Labour Relations Act. Majority: Yacoob ADCJ, Froneman and Nkabinde JJ (Cameron and Van der Westhuizen JJ concurring). Dissent: Maya AJ (Mogoeng CJ, Jafta and Skweyiya JJ concurring).