Judgment was reserved in the Constitutional Court today in the case pursued by Solidarity against Barloworld Equipment South Africa. Solidarity took the company to court after it had continued with the unfair retrenchment of employees.
According to Solidarity, Barloworld acted unfairly because the company did not consult properly with employees and trade unions. It unilaterally decided on retrenchment criteria and proceeded with the implementation thereof without adequate consultation with stakeholders as required by labour legislation. Solidarity further argued that using race and gender as criteria for the retrenchment of staff is discriminatory.
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“It is shocking that Barloworld treats loyal employees with such contempt. We cannot allow companies to set aside procedures, act unlawfully and discriminate, which is why we were in court today to challenge Barloworld and the way it deals with retrenchments at the company,” said Willie Venter, Deputy Chief Executive of Metal and Engineering at Solidarity.
“Retrenchment processes are explicitly determined by law and cannot be bypassed left, right and centre. Companies such as Barloworld should be fully aware of this and should not try to take shortcuts. We will not allow our members to fall victim to unfair conduct, and we will continue to demand a fair course of action from employers,” Venter concluded.
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