Court interdicts NEHAWU strike
JOHANNESBURG - The Labour Appeal Court yesterday morning interdicted the strike action by NEHAWU, its members and employees who are employed in an essential service which started last Monday with immediate effect.
The court said the National Education, Health and Allies Workers’ Union (NEHAWU) and all such essential service employees were restrained and prevented from continuing with or participating in any such strike.
The court also restrained NEHAWU, its members and employees employed at the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) from continuing with the strike.
The court also ordered NEHAWU to inform its members, including but not limited to every hospital and clinic at which it has members within the essential services, of the order of this court, through publication on social media, by email and by all other appropriate means available to it, by no later than 1pm yesterday.
The court said this order remained in force until the final determination of the appeal against the order made by the Labour Court on March 4, interdicting the strike by NEHAWU.
Following the judgment of Edwin Tlhothlalemaje on March 4, NEHAWU sought leave to appeal against that order.
On the first day of the strike on March 6, the Public Service and Administration minister applied for an urgent order to execute the order of Tlhothlalemaje, pending determination of NEHAWU’s appeal.
On the same day, the Labour Court granted the execution order sought by the minister. NEHAWU noted an appeal against the March 6 order and the appeal against that order was heard on Friday on an urgent basis.
In its judgment yesterday, the Labour Appeal Court said there could be no doubt that the strike notice given by NEHAWU in this matter was intentionally broad and reckless.
‘It gave notice of the strike’ across all departments and provinces (including SASSA, SIU and SANBI) and ‘in all workplaces in the public service, including those of SASSA, SIU and SANBI’.
“NEHAWU issued this notice with the knowledge that hundreds of thousands of its members were employed in essential services and that it was impermissible in terms of Section 65(1(d)(i) (of the Labour Relations Act) for them to strike, as it was for the union’s members at SASSA, SIU and SANBI since these entities did not fall within the public service as defined,” the court said.