"The Fly in the Ointment" or Simply a "Born-Again Shop Steward" Defending Workers’ Rights to Fair Representation? – The Case of Msunduzi Municipality v Hoskins 2017 38 ILJ 582 (LAC) in Retrospect
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2022/v25i0a13393Keywords:
mutual trust and confidence, Insubordination, insolence, intolerability of continued employment, incompatibility, breakdown of trustAbstract
At a distance, the decision by the Labour Appeal Court in Msunduzi Municipality v Hoskins 2017 38 ILJ 582 (LAC) appears to be a typical case of dismissal for gross insubordination. However, upon closer examination Msunduzi brings to the forefront the conflict of interest between a senior employee's responsibilities as a HR manager and his controversial role in representing fellow employees who faced disciplinary charges at the municipality. Compared to the senior managers in the antecedent cases of Keshwar v SANCA 1991 12 ILJ 816 (IC) and IMATU v Rustenburg TLC 1999 20 ILJ 377 (LC), in the case at hand the managerial employee was no longer a member of a trade union. The hybrid role performed by Hoskins created tensions within management ranks and turned into a migraine for the newly appointed acting municipal manager. To cut to the chase, as an HR manager Hoskins was figuratively and literally "the fly in the ointment". His "forward approach" as a "born-again shop steward" went beyond chutzpah. Therefore, the Labour Appeal Court cannot be faulted for upholding Hoskins' dismissal. Msunduzi compels intense engagement with the all-encompassing duty of mutual trust and confidence, the breakdown of the trust relationship, the intolerability of a continued employment relationship, "non-reinstatable conditions" as embodied in section 193(2)(a)-(d) of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 and the effect of post-dismissal misconduct on the availability of reinstatement. Also arising are discrete questions concerning insubordination and insolence, conflict of interest and incompatibility.
Downloads
Metrics
Author Biographies
Tumo Maloka, University of Limpopo
The author has been appointed Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, the University of Pretoria, South Africa, from 1 February 2023.
Masilo Matsheta, University of limpopo
Lecturer, Department of Mercantile and Labour Law, University of Limpopo
References
Bibliography
Literature
Bosch C "The Implied Term of Trust and Confidence in South African Labour Law" 2006 ILJ 28-47
Brodie D The Contract of Employment (Thomson Edinburgh 2008)
Brodie D "The Heart of the Matter: Mutual Trust and Confidence" 1996 ILJ (UK) 121-136 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ilj/25.2.121
Brodie D "Beyond Exchange: The New Contract of Employment" 1998 ILJ (UK) 79-102 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ilj/27.2.79
Brodie D "Fair Deal at Work" 1999 OJLS 83-98 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ojls/19.1.83
Brodie D "Mutual Trust and the Values of the Employment Contract" 2001 ILJ (UK) 84-100 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ilj/30.1.84
Brooks B "The Good and Considerate Employer: Developments in the Implied Duty of Mutual Trust and Confidence" 2001 U Tas LR 29-41
Cohen T "Implying Fairness into the Employment Contract" 2009 ILJ 2271-2295
Cohen T "The Relational Contract of Employment" 2012 Acta Juridica 84-101
Dukes R "Douglas Brodie, 'The Contract of Employment': Review" 2009 Edin LR 153-154 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3366/E1364980908001108
Fergus E "The Distinction Between Appeals and Reviews: Defining the Limits of the Labour Court's Powers of Review" 2010 ILJ 1556-1575
Fergus E "The Reasonable Employer's Resolve" 2013 ILJ 2486-2498
Fergus E "Reviewing an Appeal: A Response to Judge Murphy and the SCA" 2014 ILJ 47-78
Grogan J Dismissal 3rd ed (Juta Cape Town 2017)
Grogan J Dismissal, Discrimination and Unfair Labour Practices (Juta Cape Town 2007)
Le Roux R "Reinstatement: When Does a Continuing Employment Relationship Become Intolerable?" 2008 Obiter 69-76
Louw AM "The Common Law is… Not What It Used to Be': Revisiting Recognition of a Constitutionally-Inspired Implied Duty of Fair Dealing in the Common Law Contract of Employment (Part 1)" 2018 PELJ 1-25 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2018/v21i0a5129
Murray J "Conceptualizing the Employer as Fiduciary: Mission impossible?" in Bogg A et al (eds) Autonomy of Labour Law (Bloomsbury London 2015) ch 14
Myburgh A "Determining and Reviewing Sanctions After Sidumo" 2010 ILJ 1-20
Myburgh A "The LAC's Latest Trilogy of Review Judgements: Is the Sidumo Test in Decline?" 2013 ILJ 1-29
Newaj K "The Impact of Dishonesty on Employment: Edcon, Prior and Beyond" 2016 THRHR 429-442
Okpaluba C and Maloka TC "Incompatibility as a Ground for Dismissal in Contemporary South African Law of Unfair Dismissal: A Review of Zeda Car Leasing and Other Recent Cases" 2021 SA Merc LJ 238-259 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47348/SAMLJ/v33/i2a4
Okpaluba C and Maloka TC "The Breakdown of the Trust Relationship and Intolerability in the Context of Reinstatement in the Modern Law of Unfair Dismissal" 2021 Speculum Juris 140-168
Raligilia KH "A Reflection on the Duty of Mutual Trust and Confidence: Off-Duty Misconduct in the Case of Biggar v City of Johannesburg Revisited" 2014 South African Journal of Labour Relations 70-77 DOI: https://doi.org/10.25159/2520-3223/5892
Raligilia KH and Bokaba KM "Breach of the Implied Duty to Preserve Mutual Trust and Confidence: A Case Study of Moyo v Old Mutual Limited (22791) [2019]' 2021 Obiter 714-719
Rycroft A "The Intolerable Employment Relationship" 2013 ILJ 2271-2287
Sutherland CE "Regulating Dismissals: The Impact of Unfair Dismissal Legislation on the Common Law Contract of Employment" in Arup C et al (eds) Labour Law and Labour Market Regulation: Essays on the Construction, Constitution and Regulation of Labour Markets and Work Relationship (Federation Press Sydney 2006) 242-260
Teffo M "Insolence and Insubordination: The Courts' Views on Employees Gone Rogue" 2016 Contemporary Labour Law 45-50
Tshoose CI and Letjeku R "The Breakdown of Trust Relationship Between Employer and Employee as a Ground for Dismissal: Interpreting the Labour Appeal Court's Decision in Autozone" 2020 SA Merc LJ 156-174
Van Jaarsveld M "An Employee's Contractual Obligation to Promote Harmonious Relationships in the Workplace: When are the Stakes too High? Some Pointers from the Judiciary" 2007 SA Merc LJ 204-216
Case law
ABSA Bank Ltd v Naidu 2015 36 ILJ 602 (LAC)
Adcock Ingram Critical Care v CCMA 2001 22 ILJ 1799 (LAC)
Booysen v Safety and Security Sectoral Bargaining Council 2021 7 BLLR 659 (LAC)
CEPPAWU v Glass & Aluminium 2002 5 BLLR 399 (LAC)
CEPPAWU v Lonmin Precious Metals Refinery 2011 32 ILJ 2782 (CC)
Central New Agency v CAWUSA 1991 12 ILJ 340 (LAC)
CCAWUSA v Wooltru Ltd t/a Woolworths (Randburg) 1989 10 ILJ 311 (IC)
CWIU v SA Polymer Holdings (Pty) Ltd 1996 8 BLLR 978 (LAC)
CSIR v Fijen 1996 6 BLLR 685 (AD)
De Beers Consolidated Mines v CCMA 2000 9 BLLR 995 (LAC)
Department of Finance and Economic Development, Gauteng v Mosome (JA1/2013) [2014] ZALAC 46 (19 September 2014)
Department of Home Affairs v Ndlovu 2014 35 ILJ 3340 (LAC)
Drs Dietrich, Voigt & Mia t/a Pathcare v Bennett 2019 40 ILJ 1506 (LAC)
Kock v CCMA 2019 40 ILJ 1625 (LC)
Edcon Limited v Padayachee (J331/16) [2018] ZALCJHB 307 (20 September 2018)
Environserve Waste Management (Pty) Ltd v CCMA (P99/14) [2016] ZALCPE 23 (15 November 2016)
FAWU v Harvestime Corporation (Pty) Ltd 1989 10 ILJ 497 (IC)
Fedlife Assurance Ltd v Wolfaardt 2002 1 SA 49 (SCA)
Fidelity Cash Management Service v CCMA 2008 3 BLLR 197 (LAC)
FNB v Language 2013 ILJ 3103 (LAC)
G4S Secure Solutions (SA) (Pty) Ltd v Ruggiero 2017 38 ILJ 881 (LAC)
Hendricks v Overstrand Municipality 2015 36 ILJ 163 (LAC)
IMATU v Rustenburg TLC 1999 20 ILJ 377 (LC) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261-5177(98)00113-7
Jardine v Tongaat Hulett Sugar Ltd 2002 23 ILJ 547 (LC)
Keshwar v SANCA 1991 12 ILJ 816 (IC)
Kock v CCMA 2019 40 ILJ 1625 (LC)
Kroukam v SA Airlink 2005 26 ILJ 2153 (LAC)
Maepe v CCMA 2008 29 ILJ 2189 (LAC)
Malik v Bank of Credit and Commerce International SA 1998 AC 20
Malik and Mahmud v Bank of Credit and Commerce International SA [1997] UKHL 23
Masetlha v President of the RSA 2008 1 SA 566 (CC)
Mediterranean Textile Mills (Pty) Ltd v SACTWU 2012 2 BLLR 142 (LAC)
Mgijima v MEC, Department of Education, Gauteng (JR1894/2011) [2014] ZALCJHB 414 (27 October 2014)
Miyambo v CCMA 2010 10 BLLR 1017 (LAC)
Mondi Paper Co Ltd v PPWAWU 1994 15 ILJ 778 (LAC)
Motor Industry Staff Association v Silverton Spraypainters and Panelbeaters 2013 34 ILJ 1440 (LAC)
Moyane v Ramaphosa 2019 1 All SA 718 (G)
Moyo v Old Mutual Limited (22791/2019) [2019] ZAGPJHC 229 (30 July 2019)
Msunduzi Municipality v Hoskins 2017 38 ILJ 582 (LAC)
Murray v Minister of Defence 2008 29 ILJ 1369 (SCA)
Nathan v The Reclamation Group (Pty) Ltd 2002 23 ILJ 588 (LC)
NEHAWU obo Skhosana v Department of Health: Gauteng (JS903/15) [2018] ZALCJHB 201 (24 May 2018)
NUM v Black Mountain Mining (Pty) Ltd 2010 3 BLLR 281 (LC)
NUM obo Sekgoeng and Impala Platinum Ltd 2006 27 ILJ 2187 (CCMA)
NUMSA obo Motloba v Johnson Control Automotive SA (Pty) Ltd 2017 5 BLLR 483 (LAC)
Old Mutual Ltd v Moyo 2020 41 ILJ 1985 (GJ)
SA Quilt Manufacturers (Pty) Ltd v Radebe 1994 15 ILJ 115 (LAC)
SAMWU v Ethewini Municipality 2017 38 ILJ 158 (LAC)
SAMWU v Ethekweni Municipality 2019 1 BLLR 46 (LAC) DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429401343-4
Sappi Novoboard (Pty) Ltd v Bolleurs 1998 19 ILJ 784 (LAC)
Saxonburg Estate (Pty) Ltd v CCMA (C873/2005) [2007] ZALC 197 (1 January 2007)
Secretary of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector, Including Organs of State v Zuma 2021 5 SA 327 (CC)
Secretary of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector, Including Organs of State v Zuma 2021 5 BCLR 542 (CC)
Shoprite Checkers (Pty) Ltd v CCMA 2008 9 BLLR 838 (LAC)
Sibanda v Pretorius (JR2637/16) [2019] ZALCJHB 84 (4 April 2019) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2019.04.175
Sidumo v Rustenburg Platinum Mines Ltd 2007 28 ILJ 2007 (CC)
Supreme Poultry (Pty) Ltd v Mokgethi (JR1345/14) [2018] ZALCJHB 325 (13 September 2018)
Toyota SA Motors (Pty) Ltd v CCMA 2016 37 ILJ 313 (CC)
Toyota SA Motors v Radebe 2000 21 ILJ 340 (LAC)
Vitale v Transdeco GTHMH (Pty) Ltd (JR1061/06) [2007] ZALC 138 (16 November 2007)
Watson v SARU (C672/2015) [2017] ZALCJHB 264 (30 June 2017) DOI: https://doi.org/10.12968/eqhe.2017.35.30
Woolworths (Pty) Ltd v CCMA 2022 3 BLLR 296 (LAC)
Woolworths (Pty) Ltd v Mabija 2016 5 BLLR 454 (LAC)
Wright v St Mary's Hospital 1992 13 ILJ 987 (IC)
Zeda Car Leasing (Pty) Ltd t/a Avis Fleet v Van Dyk 2020 41 ILJ 1360 (LAC)
Legislation
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996
Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995
Internet sources
Merriam-Webster Date Unknown Chutzpah https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chutzpah accessed 6 November 2021
Rheeder J 2011 How to Deal with Shop Steward Misconduct https://www.polity.org.za/print-version/how-to-deal-with-shop-stewards-or-union-misconduct-2011-08-10 accessed 15 November 2021
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Tumo Maloka, Masilo Matsheta
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
.png){kind=spacer}