Dear Numsa legal departmentI’m writing this letter to express my gratitude and joy when I received the good news from Jacob Xilongo about my case. It has been a long journey to victory no matter the ups and downs we were confronted with as well as the anger and frustration.

I firstly want to thank God for his patience, purpose and the prayers that went up to Him. They have finally paid off.My thanks also to Jacob Xilongo. He has been with us through the complete proceedings.

His advice and direction in handling the case were superb. There was a time when I had a choice between Ruth Edmond’s attorneys and Xilongo.

I chose Xilongo because he fully understood the merits of the case. I also want to congratulate Ruth and Xolisa for their part in the proceedings. And to Eric Nyekemba.

To all the Numsa members, I want to encourage you to stick with this union, a union that came to my rescue in times of great desperation and need.It is a pity that I cannot share my victory with those who passed on, namely Isaac Majozi, Joseph Kabhai and all the other comrades.

God bless them all, gone, but not forgotten.My family, friends and colleagues – Boy, Blackie, Leonard, Abram and Gebe – would like to thank Numsa for the outstanding work.

Peter Mervin Smith, ex-Genrec worker

Update:Mervin Smith was dismissed in 2006 for misconduct. Numsa referred the matter to the Centre for Dispute Resolution (CDR). Numsa won the arbitration case which sat in July 2009. As Numsa News went to print, we had just heard that the company is taking this ruling on review. Smith will now have to wait a lot longer for resolution of his matter.

Numsa member shot dead after dismissalI am a NUMSA member working for Defy Appliances in Ladysmith, KZN, Pieters Industrial area.As a concerned South African citizen and a tax payer, I want to bring to your attention a very disturbing and painful tragedy involving a fellow worker this past week specifically on the thirty first on Friday of last month.

The worker who was on six in the evening shift to six in the morning was told to go home by the manager just after twelve midnight supposedly for being drunk on duty.

On his way home to the location, he was met by thugs who mugged, stoned and shot him dead. The deceased has probably been a NUMSA member for over fifteen years.We understand it’s not the first time an incident of this nature has happened in this company.

As workers, we feel the manager concerned has to be suspended until thorough investigation into this matter is done. We believe in any working environment, workers’ rights have to be valued. It is puzzling that this seems not to be the case with Defy Appliances, a JSE listed company.

As workers, we want the company to bury the deceased and help the family with the education of his children due to their negligence. It is high time the union shows it has the interest of the workers at heart by hitting the company where it hurts most.

I will also be writing to the Labour Department at national level and the print media.Viva NUMSA Viva, an injury to one is an injury to all. United we stand divided we fall.May the strength of the Lord and his Angels sustain the Mgaga family in this very difficult time in their lives.Anonymous

WORKERS, KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

Mirriam Mochochoko interviews Dugmore Moto who was unfairly dismissed

Dugmore Moto, a former shop steward at Ethekwini local KwaZulu Natal, was unfairly dismissed in November 2008. The charge was allegedly intimidating a company nursing sister.

He had had an argument with her about his medication. It was prescribed after he ran the comrades marathon. The medication was delivered to the company and signed for by the sister.

However, she did not give it to him for three weeks.Moto was unhappy about what had happened and approached the sister to find out why she had withheld the medication even though she knew he was being treated.

He also wanted the sister to apologise for not giving him his medicine.Moto went to the human resource officer (HRO) to ask for advice. He did not give the name of the person in question (company sister) not details of the issue.The HRO advised him to launch a formal grievance.

The following day Moto went back to the HRO to fill in a grievance form. He named the sister and said that the issue was medication that she had kept for three weeks.

On the day of the grievance enquiry, Moto discovered that the sister had launched a grievance against him.She had interpreted his request for an apology as intimidation.

In the arbitration hearing the company did not ask the sister to testify to support the allegation of intimidation. The company’s argument was based on hearsay and was therefore false and misleading.

The HRO was found to be biased when dealing with the matter. The outcome of the enquiry was questionable. The sister’s grievance of intimidation against Moto was upheld and he was dismissed, but the sister was not dismissed for putting the health of Moto at risk by keeping his medication for three weeks.

Moreover the sister obtained a restraining order against Moto who found it hard to understand her motive.The arbitration reinstated Moto to his job.

His advice to other workers is to trust the union. He says shop stewards should attend workshops to learn how to deal with cases like this.

Source

Numsa News