VANDERBIJLPARK – The troubled Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) has dodged a whopping R9.5m financial bullet after winning a heated legal battle against 19 employees who fought tooth and nail for promotions and back-pay dating back more than a decade.
This comes after the South African Local Government Bargaining Council (SALGBC) ruled against the employees, dismissing their claim and putting an end to what could have been a catastrophic financial loss for the embattled municipality.
According to the municipality, the drama unfolded when employees from various departments, including Human Resources and Local Economic Development, took their promotion dispute to the SALGBC, hoping to secure back-pay dating as far back as 2008.
However, the municipality, determined to protect its already fragile financial situation, fiercely opposed the motion.
Speaking to Ster, ELM spokesman Makhosonke Sangweni said, “Upon hearing the evidence and the arguments, the Commissioner ruled that the Bargaining Council lacked jurisdiction to deal with the matter as it is of interest. The Commissioner further pronounced that the employees were late in their referral and should have applied for condonation.”
Sangweni said the ruling is seen as a lifeline for the municipality, saving a staggering R9.5m.
“For us, this is not just a legal victory but an accomplishment necessary for the survival of the municipality and its ability to fulfill its constitutional mandate of
providing adequate services to consumers,” he said.
ELM further revealed that the ruling helped them dodge yet another looming legal battle involving 18 additional employees in a parallel case.
“It should be noted that this figure excludes any interest that could have been awarded as compensation. Through this thoroughgoing and progressive ruling by the Labour Court, ELM managed to circumvent a parallel legal case submitted to the Bargaining Council involving 18 other employees.”
“The matter has been referred to by the Bargaining Council once more, which is something that is against the law, and the municipality has objected to the new referral,” he said.
The municipality has since welcomed the victory as a milestone and a breakthrough in containing job-level disputes that have been plaguing the municipality for years.
“The municipality has spent millions on the implementation of arbitration awards in consequence of these matters. As the new administration, we take these positive developments of the municipality and appreciate the work that has been done by management,” alluded Sangweni.
“We are finally turning the corner guided by the spirit of business unusual as adopted in the recent Lekgotla. The municipality has been prone to employee ill-discipline for some time, we firmly believe that the dismissals of some of these senior officials will send a very strong message to wrongdoers,” he said.
