Dear Hon. Portfolio Committee Chair M-A L Dunjwa.
The ED of the CCMA on 17th February 2022 iterated several issues of grave import.
1.The duty to be honest with Parliament.
2. The issue of Quality and Content of the work of the CCMA.
3. The requirement on the CCMA to deal with its cases expeditiously unlike in the Meteobus case where people died or lost interest as the case dragged on for years.
4. The centrality to the LRA of job security and the right to fair labour practices as confirmed by the ConCourt.
There is one case Case No. GAJB 8474-16 that is anthema, antithetic and anomalous to the above principled position stated by the Director of the CCMA. It has been "Redlined" and even escalated to the attention of the CCMA Governing Body and because there are established grounds for conflict of interest and many levels, including in the specific instance of the CCMA Director, the case has had a lifespan many times the statutory 74 calendar days allocated for under the reduced (Con-Arb) time periods of the Commission. It is now on 7 years and there is no end in sight despite the Applicants having complied with all applicable Law, Rule, Ruling, Directicive and Protocol.
The CCMA is too important to fail or to be compromised as the main gateway to achieving social justice and fair labour practice for workers who remain vulnerable and disenfranchised despite the promises of the consriturional dispensation.
We had delayed
approaching the Portfolio Committee becahse we believe in the capacity of our institutions to carry out their various mandates and we pursued every available avenue to live up to our side of the bargain only to be thoroughly amd utterly disappointed by the leadership and management of the CCMA.
Anybody, including this Honourable Committee you chair should be curious and appalled at the egregious effect a failing CCMA has on the lives of applicants, taxpayers' monies, committment to rooting out corruption, abuse of delegated authority, maladministration and obstruction of social justice.
CCMA Case GAJB 8474 demonstrates what needs to be fixed with the Alternative Dispute Resolution System.
The Chair is requested to pay some attention to this matter which has served before the Portfolio Committee on Communications and was attended to by Deputy Minister Pinky Kekana then. I remain available to share further details should the Chair and Committee so please.
Thank you.
Tuwani Gumani
Johannesburg South
Gauteng