The United National Transport Union (UNTU) will ask the Labour Court in Johannesburg tomorrow to interdict Transnet Soc Limited from forcing some of its employees to take compulsory leave in December.
UNTU will bring an urgent court application against the parastatal after Transnet issued a Memo Communique to all employees about compulsory leave that has to be taken over the December period of 2016.
The Union will ask the Labour Court to prohibit Transnet to proceed forcing its employees to take 13 days’ annual leave over the upcoming Festive Season.
UNTU is also asking the court to make an arbitration award of the Transnet Bargaining Council on the leave dispute, an order of the Court.
Steve Harris, General Secretary of UNTU, says the Union had no choice but to bring an urgent court application after Transnet decided to re-implement its revised leave policy knowing that the award was awarded in favour of UNTU.
UNTU declared a dispute on behalf of its members in November last year after Transnet gave notice that it wished to implement a plan where employees who were not needed for its business operations over the Festive Season, would have to take leave from 17 December 2015 to 3 January 2016.
According to Harris Transnet has no right to enforce leave on its employees as it constitutes a unilateral change or a variation to a long-standing policy or practice. Transnet refused to reconsider and then UNTU took the matter to arbitration.
During the arbitration Adv. Ngwako Maenetje SC, the arbitrator of the Transnet Bargaining Council, had to interpret the collective agreements regarding annual leave. He found that Transnet had acted in breach of the relative collective agreements when it unilaterally implemented enforced leave during the enforced period. Adv. Maenetje ordered Transnet to re-instate the leave taken pursuant to the festive leave and where applicable, employees who wish to encash or accumulate leave, would have such leave re-instated.
Transnet applied to the Labour Court to review and set aside the arbitration award in UNTU’s favour. Transnet’s application to review and set aside the arbitration award will be heard on 31 October.
For enquiries phone Harris on 082 566 5516.
Issued on behalf of UNTU by Sonja Carstens, Media and Liaison Officer. For UNTU Press Releases e-mail sonja@untu.co.za or phone 082 463 6806.
