Exclusive jurisdiction of the Labour Court in matters emanating from the LRA
In reviewing the matter of POPCRU & Others v Gaolepe Seokolo & Others, Case No: CIV APP FB 12/2023 (HC) [10 May 2024].
For the full judgment, click on the link below:
https://mabasoinc.co.za/sitepad-data/uploads/2024/05/judgment-popcru-.pdf
On 10 May 2024, the Full Appeal Court of the North West in Mahikeng, after a thorough legal process, upheld POPCRU’s appeal. It concluded that the Labour Court has exclusive jurisdiction to hear disputes arising from a dispute between a trade union and its members/officials; as such relationships are governed by a trade union's Constitution and the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (the LRA).
The main points before the Appeal Court of the North West are as follows:
- The Respondents in the appeal were members/officials of POPCRU who were aggrieved by the POPCRU's administrative actions, including the convening of a provincial congress that was due to be held from 27 to 29 July 2022; therefore, they approached the High Court seeking urgent interim interdictory reliefs.
- The High Court, per Gura J, heard the urgent application and, on 26 July 2022, issued an interim order, among other things, interdicting POPCRU’s North West PEC conference and ordering POPCRU’s NEC to reinstate its suspended North West PEC pending the finalization of part B of the application.
Dissatisfied with the Gura J's judgment, POPCRU approached S Mabaso Inc Attorneys and sought advice. This law firm advised POPCRU that the North West High Court had no jurisdiction to hear the urgent application so the Court committed an appealable error, as a result, there were prospects of success in challenging the Gura's judgment in the Appeal Court.
Subsequently, an appeal was lodged, and later, the North West PEC conference that had been interdicted continued on a different date, considering that the leave to appeal suspended the operation of Gura J’s judgment.
Based on the submissions and authorities raised on behalf of POPCRU, the Appeal Court of the Northwest concluded that Gura J's judgment was set aside and replaced with an order dismissing the Respondents’ case as the North West Division of the High Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the dispute between POPCRU and its members/officials.
1. This application is struck off the roll due to the lack of jurisdiction of this Court...
