By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Western Cape and Gauteng delegates stormed out of the national congress of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Wednessday.
On Wednesday morning, NUMSA’s general secretary Irvin Jim said in a press statement that, “the NUMSA 11th NC is proceeding as planned and in full compliance with the Labour Court’s judgment (irrespective of the fact that the judgment has been suspended as a consequence of the filing of NUMSA’s application for leave to appeal against the said judgment).”
In the Johannesburg Labour Court on Saturday, Judge Graham Moshoana ruled that decisions of the union’s central committee to suspend a large number of members, including the union’s second deputy president Ruth Ntlokose, and to place the Mpumalanga Regional Council, NUMSA’s largest region, under ‘administration’ were “unconstitutional, invalid and unenforceable in law”
The ruling ordered the union to only hold the congress when it had fully complied with the terms of its own constitution.
Despite the ruling, the union went ahead with the congress on Wednesday based on its own interpretation of the ruling.
Numsa has sought leave to appeal this ruling and proceeded with the congress.
The virtual court proceedings got under way from 6pm.
Lawyers representing both Numsa and the officials – who have since had their suspensions lifted – made oral representations to the Labour Court via a virtual hearing on Wednesday evening.
The hearing came on the same day Numsa kicked off its congress, maintaining it had taken the necessary corrective actions in line with the court’s ruling after a meeting of its special central committee (SCC) on Tuesday.
Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said the union’s appeal was based on five grounds that included the National Executive Committee’s (NEC) power to suspend officials and office-bearers.
According to Hlubi-Majola, the ruling had serious implications on the operations of the union and would render it “inoperable”.
We lodged an appeal against the judgement primarily because we believe that the judge erred in finding that the National Executive Committee could only suspend office bearers or officials after convening a disciplinary hearing.
“On the contrary, the NEC has the power to place any member or employee of the union on precautionary suspension pending the disciplinary hearing envisaged by the Constitution,” Hlubi-Majola said.
She said any member placed on precautionary suspension was prohibited from taking part in union activities.
The grounds for the appeal included the powers to suspend to the Central Committee, Regional Executive Committee and the powers to place regions under administration.
The more than 50 suspended officials, office-bearers and shop stewards had also slapped the union with a demand to provide, tonight, the minutes of a Special Central Committee (SPCC) that was convened on Tuesday, where a decision on how to proceed with the credentials of delegates were reportedly taken.
Judgment was reserved until 10:00 on Thursday morning.