NUMSA threatens legal action over suspended Putco workers’ salaries
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa has threatened to approach the Labour Court to force bus company Putco to pay the salaries of 120 suspended workers.
The union believes the workers have a right to be paid their wages until the finalisation of an arbitration process at the CCMA.
The workers were suspended for taking part in an illegal strike in 2022, pending the outcome of a disciplinary inquiry.
The two parties met on Tuesday in an attempt to end the dispute.
NUMSA spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said Putco is threatening to withhold salaries for workers on suspension if the cases at CCMA are not concluded by 5 April.
"The main reason the talks collapsed is because Putco wants to dictate to us on how to defend workers. Putco has demanded that we guarantee that the CCMA arbitration hearings are conducted and concluded by the 5th of April 2024, or else, workers will not be paid their salaries whilst on suspension.
“The union cannot agree to this because there are at least 120 workers who must be defended. It is clear that Putco is attempting to sabotage our cases with this demand.”
She added: "In October 2022, NUMSA offered to group the workers according to the charges they were facing and to defend them in groups. This would have drastically reduced the time spent on the hearings. However, Putco rejected this offer. They demanded that workers make submissions individually. They created this situation, and now they want workers to suffer. We reject their attempts to deny workers their right to due process and a fair disciplinary hearing.”
However, Putco spokesperson Lindokuhle Xulu claimed it was in fact the union delaying the CCMA process.
"The company also expressed concerns regarding the prolonged CCMA inquiry process, which both parties had agreed would be undertaken expeditiously. Putco is of the view that NUMSA’s suggestion that the hearings be concluded by November 2024 is unreasonable.
“This would be more than two years since the process started and would go against the union’s commitment in the Section 150 agreement to finalise the matter speedily. Putco believes that two months is sufficient time to finalise these proceedings.
“We remain committed to pursuing available dispute resolution mechanisms facilitated by the CCMA and the Labour Court, and we welcome an opportunity to present the facts," said Xulu.
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