Former mineworker loses Labour Court bid after retrenchment battle

When mines shut down, it is not just shafts and machinery that fall silent livelihoods do too. That was the reality for Maletsoko Masha, a former Excavator Ripper Operator at Lwala Mine, who has now lost a lengthy legal fight to challenge his retrenchment.

The Johannesburg Labour Court dismissed Masha’s application, ruling that his unfair dismissal case was filed far too late and that his explanation for the delay did not hold water.

A long road from retrenchment to court

Masha first joined Zizwe Opencast Mining in 2017. Like hundreds of others, he was caught up in the company’s Section 189 retrenchments in 2022, when the mine announced it would be shutting down.

At first, he turned down an offer to shift into a different role Excavator Bucket Operator because it came with a reduced salary. But when retrenchment became a reality, he later attempted to take up the same position, only to be rejected.

By October 2022, he settled a dispute at the Bargaining Council, accepting the reduced-rate role. That contract, too, ended when the mine finally closed in February 2023.

Still, Masha believed the process had been unfair and took his case to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). When the CCMA could not resolve the dispute, he was advised to approach the Labour Court but here his troubles only grew.

Delays and legal missteps

According to court papers, Masha and his attorneys struggled to file the case within the required 90-day period. They blamed a combination of missing employer contact details, the collapse of the Post Office, and administrative back-and-forth with the sheriff’s office.

However, Acting Judge Hedda Schensema was unconvinced. The court found that Masha actually had his employer’s email address on record and could have served documents electronically instead of relying on postal services.

“The applicant has failed to discharge the onus to show good cause why the indulgence sought should be granted,” Schensema said. She ruled that the delay was “excessive” and that Masha’s explanation fell short of what the law requires.

Why this matters

Labour disputes linked to mine closures are not uncommon in South Africa, especially as communities around mines rely heavily on these operations for jobs. The ruling highlights the strict deadlines in labour law workers who miss them, even for reasons they see as valid, may find their cases dismissed outright.

For Masha, the judgment means the end of his retrenchment battle. For others, it is a cautionary tale: in labour disputes, time is not always on the worker’s side.

{Source: IOL}

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