Veteran Numsa Scaw Metals shop steward, Stanford Ndobo, is back at work after winning his case of unfair dismissal.
Ndobo was fired in October 2001 for allegedly assaulting a white sub-contractor in the factory after the sub-contractor swore at him and pushed him. Numsa claimed that the dismissal was both procedurally and substantively unfair.
In his finding, the arbitrator found that the fact that the sub-contractor had used abusive words and then pushed Ndobo before Ndobo retaliated, were sufficient grounds for lessening the assault charge and making his dismissal unfair.
Ndobo's 18 years of 'unblemished' service also counted in his favour. Other evidence showed that the company had not followed procedures correctly and that in earlier assault cases, the alleged assailant had not always been dismissed.
The arbitrator therefore found the dismissal both procedurally and substantively unfair and ordered the Wadeville company to reinstate Ndobo on March 3 with a final written warning valid for 6 months.
The company was also ordered to pay him from the time they stopped paying him at the end of January 2002 until February 24, 2003 .
Viva Numsa viva!
Source
Numsa News