Johannesburg
- The Labour Court in Johannesburg on Thursday set aside a labour
department decision to deregister the Communication Workers Union.
The
court further stopped the department from publishing the
deregistration of the union in the Government Gazette after an urgent
interdict by the CWU.
The
CWU and the department agreed to have the union's deregistration
suspended and be set down for arguments in the Labour Court on August
10.
This
would allow the department to file its documentation in this regard.
The agreement also was also made part of the court order.
"CWU
believes that this court order gives hope that victory is certain,"
union spokesperson Matankana Mothapo said.
According
to Business Report, the labour department terminated the CWU's legal
status on July 25. With over 30,000 members, it was the largest
employee representative grouping under the bargaining council in the
information and communication technology sector.
The
publication reported that CWU's troubles began in November when the
department accused it of contravening sections 98, 99 and 100 of the
Labour Relations Act (LRA) by failing to provide financial statements
since 2006. It had also reportedly ceased to function in terms of its
constitution.
Trade
union Solidarity said the deregistration of the CWU drew renewed
attention to the negative impact the proposed inclusion of subsection
111(5) in the LRA would have on unions.
"This
amendment will result in trade unions, who appeal against
deregistration, (having) to suspend their activities for the duration
of the process, which will have a destructive effect on unions and
their members," Solidarity said in a statement.
Johan
Kruger, head of the Solidarity research institute, said current
legislation opened the possibility for unions which appealed
deregistration to still represent their members in the Commission for
Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), and during wage
negotiations.
"The
proposed amendment of section 111 has the potential to devastate a
trade union, even if its appeal against deregistration eventually
succeeds."
He
said a trade union deregistered mistakenly would lose its bargaining
power, leaving thousands of workers without protection in the
workplace.
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