Johannesburg - The former spokesman of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) claims the union is refusing to pay him out after a settlement was reached at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
Castro Ngobese says that he now has no option but to return to the CCMA.
“The settlement agreement stated categorically that Numsa should in writing no later than June 20, 2016, accept my resignation as its senior official. Secondly, Numsa should no later than July 1, 2016, pay what is due to me,” he said on Thursday.
“Regrettably, the union has failed to honour the agreement. I consider this action as not just a breach of the agreement but in contempt of the CCMA.”
Last week, Ngobese approached the CCMA over the non-payment. He opted to take a payout after Numsa's representative Lucky Skosana affirmed that his relationship with the union and its leadership had completely broken down.
“I accepted Numsa’s settlement offer in good faith, given my unwavering loyalty and dedication to Numsa and the struggles of its members on the shop floor in strategic sectors of the economy where the union organises.
“I have been left with no alternative but to approach the CCMA to enforce the settlement. This could result in the embarrassing spectacle of the Sheriff attaching the removable assets of a workers organisation for failing to honour its obligations of an employee,” he said.
Ngobese said no worker deserved such treatment and warned he would go to the highest court in the land if necessary.
The union could not immediately be reached for comment.
LABOUR BUREAU