MILITARY personnel are now allowed to join labour unions, following a Constitutional Court ruling on Wednesday, but this does not give them the right to go on strike. The Court has confirmed a 1998 Pretoria High Court ruling that an Defence Act ban on military personnel belonging to unions is unconstitutional. The South African National Defence Union has been fighting for legitimacy for five years. The SANDF was ordered to pay SANDU’s costs in fighting the military appeal, around R30000. The ban on union membership was deemed an unacceptable infringement of the fundamental right to free expression.