Tag: Kenneth Coster

On 18 April 2023, the Constitutional Court handed down judgment in National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) v Trenstar (Pty) Ltd (Trenstar). It had to consider the interpretation of section 76(1)(b) of the Labour Relations Act (LRA), which prohibits employers from using replacement labour during a lock-out unless the lock-out is in response to a strike.

Proposed amendments to the Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA) place greater obligations on employers, which is to be welcomed in some respects, but other amendments are problematic and may be open to legal challenge.

Employees returning to work from the COVID-19 lockdown will need to show reasonable justification if they halt work on the basis that they are exposed to the virus. Legal provisions allowing employees to withdraw from a hazardous working situation could, in the context of COVID-19, be open to abuse by unprincipled employees or trades unions.

The Minerals Council South Africa (Minerals Council) has recently published its safety in mining fact sheet that summarises the state of safety in the South African mining industry for 2019. The Safety Mining Fact Sheet also highlights the recent commitments made in the mining industry to achieving zero harm across all mining operations in the country.

Essential services refer to those services that, if interrupted, would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or any part of the population. Once a service is declared as an essential service, employees working in such services may not engage in strike action.