Gupta firm refuses to reinstate employee
A MINING outsourcing company associated with the Guptas and President Jacob Zuma’s son has refused to reinstate an employee who was awarded R287 880 by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) in backpay for unfair dismissal, according to the employee concerned.
The firm, JCI Mining Services, is closely aligned to the Guptas and Duduzane Zuma, their business associate. Two of its three non-executive directors are Rajesh Gupta and Duduzane. The company is majority-owned by Oakbay Investments, the family investment vehicle of the Guptas.
Clinton Cilliers, a mine sinker in charge of blasting, returned to work yesterday in compliance with the ruling but was denied access.
Instead, he was told to report to the company’s head office in Midrand.
On his way there, he said he was phoned by the chief of operations, Neels Sutherland, who told him he would not be reinstated and JCI would be taking the matter for review at the Labour Court.
Cilliers’ attorney Jean-Paul Rudd said JCI had now indicated that it intended to review the ruling. “This is a delaying tactic and is common in labour matters.”
JCI said Geraldine Pillay, an employee relations advisor, who was one of the two representatives of the company at the CCMA hearing, was no longer in its employ.
Cilliers was dismissed in August 2014 for gross misrepresentation, dishonesty and gross dereliction of duty.
He lodged a dispute with the CCMA in Rustenburg, but the parties could not conciliate and the matter proceeded to arbitration. Commissioner Mzondi Molapo ruled Cilliers dismissal on all three charges was substantively unfair.
He found that Cilliers was employed for almost 10 years by JIC with no negative disciplinary record.
Moreover, Cilliers had contributed vastly to the company by working extra abnormal hours without remuneration.
Molapo also found that the representatives of JCI had during the arbitration proceedings unlawfully gained a postponement and had ordered them to pay Cilliers’ costs in respect of this postponement. Cilliers was earning R71 970 a month.
President Zuma has been criticised for his close connection to the Gupta brothers, the owners of the New Age newspaper, as well as having interests in computers, mining, air travel and energy.