SECUNDA – A large number of former Sasol employees flocked to Sasol on Tuesday, 8 October, to tender their services after the Labour Court ruled that they should be reinstated.
More than a hundred former employees were allegedly unfairly dismissed by Sasol Mining in January 2009 following their involvement in an underground sit-in which took place on 22 and 23 January.
According to the judgement, evidence was concluded in early October 2017 and the matter was set down for argument in the last week of December 2017.
However, the bundles of extracts of the record which the court had directed to be prepared together with heads of argument, were not filed early enough for the court to consider and it was necessary to postpone the hearing for closing arguments.
The parties’ representatives were then unable to agree on dates during the first term of 2018 when the court offered to reconvene.
The closing argument was only heard on 26 June 2018.
A total of 36 witnesses gave evidence.
Judge R Lagrange of the Labour Court, ruled that in so far as applicants were dismissed for their participation in unprotected strike action, their dismissals were substantively unfair, but procedurally fair.
He ordered that Sasol reinstate the employees (applicants) with retrospective effect to a date two years prior to their reinstatement, provided their names also appear on the respondent’s (Sasol) spreadsheet.
The court ruled that all the applicants (former employees) who are entitled to retrospective reinstatement in terms of the order above, must tender their services within 45 days of the date of the order.
Payment of compensation to those applicants entitled to such payment in terms of paragraph 2.4, must be made within 30 calendar days of the date of the order.
Sasol was ordered to pay the applicants’ costs. However, the former employees were disappointed when they arrived at Sasol to tender their services, because they were denied access by Sasol Security on Tuesday, 8 October. Only their leaders were allowed to enter Sasol and met with Sasol’s security management.
In the meeting, the former employees led by Mr Victor Mabuyakhulu, were given a letter from Sasol’s legal team, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH), stating they have instructions that their client is intending to appeal the matter and that they will file the necessary notices in due course.
The letter stated that the former employees should note that the appeal will suspend the judgement of the Labour Court.
The legal team stated in the letter their client (Sasol) will not accept the former employees tendering of their services at Brandspruit.
Mr Mabuyakhulu questioned the legitimacy of the letter as it did not have any signatures and requested that Sasol Security invite Sasol’s management to the meeting.
However, Sasol Security informed them that management was not available for the meeting and another meeting was scheduled for Thursday, 10 October.
The former employees were formally informed that Sasol was intending to appeal the matter.
Mr Abner Magagula, former employee, said they are unhappy with Sasol’s actions and that it proves that the company wants to continue exploiting people.
“We waited for over a decade for these matters to come to an end and Sasol was given more than enough time to present their case in court, but they failed.
“Now they are again dragging the matter, knowing exactly that most of the former employees are old people and some of them even died.
“Sasol is playing delay tactics at the expense of people’s lives.”
Mr Alex Anderson, Sasol spokesman, said the Labour Court issued judgement on 19 September against Sasol pertaining to unprotected strikes at Sasol Mining in December 2008 and January 2009.
“We will study the judgement, which is voluminous and then consider options available to Sasol.”
