Article 53/2021

Labour Edge

How do you determine the true nature of a dispute?

In National Union of Metalworkers of SA and Others v Bader Bop (Pty) Ltd 2003 (3) SA 513 (CC), (2003) 24 ILJ 305 (CC), at paragraph [52], it was held that:

‘It is the duty of a court to ascertain the true nature of the dispute between the parties. In ascertaining the real dispute, a court must look at the substance of the dispute and not at the form in which it is presented. The label given to a dispute by a party is not necessarily conclusive.  The true nature of the dispute must be distilled from the history of the dispute, as reflected in the communications between the parties and between the parties and the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation & Arbitration (CCMA), before and after referral of such dispute. These would include referral documents, the certificate of outcome and all relevant communications. It is also important to bear in mind that parties may modify their demands in the course of discussing the dispute or during the conciliation process. All of this must be taken into consideration in ascertaining the true nature of the dispute.’

March 21, 2025

In the scenario where an employer has embarked upon an organisational restructuring exercise and, as part of such exercise, is attempting to adjust and streamline roles and positions that have the consequence that certain jobs are made
redundant, and the employer requires the employees who held such jobs to compete for new jobs in a new organigram, what are some of the important principles governing this scenario?

March 18, 2025

How are medical certificates to be dealt with in the absence of affidavits from doctors or evidence given by doctors who issued such medical certificates?

March 10, 2025

What is an employer to do when it suspects that a medical practitioner is issuing pre- signed sick notes, or permitting its employees to buy sick notes, or, alternatively, is engaging in some other dubious practice regarding the issue of sick notes? What is an employer to do when it suspects that a person is not entitled to practice as a medical doctor?