STRIKING A DEAL

A deft court judgment has found middle ground in a dispute over picketing rules at Sibanye-stillwater’s Beatrix mine

Acourt decision has shown surprising flexibility in response to the dead locked Sibanyestillwater strike. The involvement of legal bodies as referees began when the unions gave notice of the strike. At that point, the two sides should have negotiated picketing rules. But when that failed, a dispute was referred to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation & Arbitration (CCMA), where the commissioner issued rules that were binding on both sides. CCMA or in the court system.

In this case, the court was asked to act as referee when the employer blamed the union for violence and intimidation, while the union denied responsibility. Amendments to the Labour Relations Act (LRA) were made precisely to deal with such problems by way of “readily enforceable picketing rules”, Snyman said.

But what is a court to do if, as here, urgent intervention is required while a dispute is being conciliated or adjudicated?

Snyman’s view was that, “where just and equitable”, the

According to management, violent strikers were protected by a tree line along the road to the mine’s offices. Screened as they moved along the road, the strikers attacked passing vehicles and people. Claiming this showed the union could not control striking employees across three picketing areas, management wanted just one area, with the total number capped at 50 picketers at a time.

However, the Association of Mineworkers & Construction

Union (Amcu) denied that its members were responsible for the unlawful conduct and said the original picketing rules were adequate.

A nimble compromise