An interim Labour Court order forced a halt to a security guard strike at Magnum Shield Security late on Wednesday, the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) said.
Satawu’s Gauteng provincial secretary, Xolani Nyamezela, said on Thursday the strike started on Wednesday morning and that the court order was received at 5.10pm.
The order was to discontinue the strike, with a court date for a final order set for June 19.
The strike was over the selling of work contracts, which would require some Magnum Shield guards to work for Springbok Fidelity without notification.
The union would apply for an earlier court date than June 19, Nyamezela said.
The union went on strike after filing a dispute at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration earlier this month, he said.
A date for conciliation was set for May 24. The papers declared that the employer had made unilateral changes to the terms and conditions of employment in selling the contracts, he said.
”The main reason we went on strike and didn’t wait for conciliation is that we appealed to the company to stop the process until the conciliation date — but the company said the decision is made and they cannot wait.”
Magnum Security personnel director Blake Wickham said the court had declared the strike unprotected and ordered that the union cease inciting or promoting strike action.
Wickham said the selling of contracts did not qualify as a ”unilateral change” and that contracts were sold with the same terms and conditions.
The law did not require negotiation with employees, he said.
Five hundred worker contracts had been sold out of a workforce of 8 000.
A meeting will be held with both parties and the CCMA for mediation on Friday, Nyamezela said. – Sapa