/ 15 July 2013

NUM’s Lonmin representation case struck off roll

Num's Lonmin Representation Case Struck Off Roll

The National Union of Mineworkers’ (NUM) case was struck off the roll at the Johannesburg Labour Court on Monday morning due to lack of urgency.

The NUM was seeking an extension to the 90-day deadline of its derecognition, which expires on Tuesday, July 16, while it fights to hang on to its recognition agreement at Lonmin’s Rustenburg platinum operation and for the reversal of its membership losses to Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) on the basis of intimidation, murder and alleged stop order fraud.

In his judgment, presiding judge Robert Lagrange said that he was “satisfied that the NUM’s current predicament is a result of it not exercising its rights timeously in 2012, when it should have been apparent to it that it was losing members at an alarming rate. It did not need Lonmin to point this out to it, or to remind it of  [the] threat this posed to its majority status.” Lagrange also added that the matter was unlikely to succeed on merits had the urgency been established.

But the NUM’s spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka said his union was not disappointed and the ruling was a minor setback and said the case itself still had merit. “The court didn’t want to deal with membership fraud because that matter is within the jurisdiction of the [Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration]. What we wanted was temporary relief pending the CCMA case. He said we should have come earlier. We still have to consult with lawyers, sit at the CCMA and discuss the case.”

The CCMA matter is being heard on Wednesday this week.

Due to Monday's judgment, the NUM will have to vacate its offices pending the CCMA ruling, a thorny issue which has led to several work disruptions at Lonmin this year. In May, a two-day work stoppage took place, with Amcu members downing tools to demand the closure of the NUM's offices. On June 3, NUM's shaft committee chairperson Mbulelo Nqeto was murdered in an NUM office.