Ruling paves way for R100 000 claim
2012-06-13 22:22
Johannesburg - A Constitutional Court ruling on Wednesday holding trade union Satawu liable for a riot damage claim was hailed by Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille.
"While we respect the right of any organisation to organise legal strike action and to assemble, these rights must be balanced against the rights of ordinary citizens, who should not to be unduly prejudiced by the exercise of this right."
In a statement, De Lille said the implication of the ruling against the SA Transport and Allied Workers' Union (Satawu) was that organisers would be obliged to take steps to prevent destructive conduct.
"The decision will further afford effective legal recourse to victims if a gathering becomes destructive and results in injury, loss of property or life."
The ruling also paved the way for the city to formally pursue a damages claim against the SA Municipal Workers' Union. Damage in the region of R100 000 were recorded during its strike in August 2011.
Earlier on Wednesday the Democratic Alliance called the ruling a massive victory.
"For too long, Cosatu [the Congress of SA Trade Unions] and its affiliates have been allowed to engage in violent and chaotic strikes without any repercussions," DA MP Ian Ollis said in a statement.
The ruling would force the unions to keep better discipline at marches, pickets and strikes.
"I will, therefore, continue pushing for an amendment to the Labour Relations Act to explicitly hold unions liable for damage during strikes, in any and all cases.
"This ruling must be written into the letter of the law to stop the practice of violent, chaotic and disorganised strikes once and for all," Ollis said.
The court ruled that the Satawu was responsible for damages caused during a march by security guards in Cape Town in May 2006. It found the Regulation of Gatherings Act afforded victims effective recourse when a gathering became destructive and resulted in injury, loss of property, or life.
"The organisations are intimately involved in the planning, supervision, and execution of the gathering, but the potential victims are not," Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng said in the ruling.
"Because of this, the organisations would be in a better position than innocent victims to identify individuals or institutions which caused the damage."
He said the union had the opportunity of a "soft landing" if it could track down those responsible for the damage caused during the protest and recoup its loss from them.
The union appealed twice against the decision and was turned down on both occasions.
- SAPA
