Cape Town - Good Hope Construction (GHC) has “agreed in principle” to review a R1.3 million settlement with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) after a march to the Building Industry Bargaining Council (BIBC) on Wednesday.
The march by NUM to the BIBC on Wednesday came after a separate matter was heard in the Labour Court on Monday.
The Labour Court ordered NUM to stop illegally protesting outside GHC construction sites and further ordered the union to pay GHC’s R300 000 legal bill. The Labour Court ruling now paves the way for GHC to go to the Western Cape High Court to claim damages in excess of R15 million for damage to property and loss of business.
undefinedThe dispute started when 170 GHC plasterers - citing violation of a number of labour laws - embarked on a strike on April 21.
The plasterers, who are represented by NUM, protested at GHC sites in Macassar, Scottsdene, Philippi East and Delft, where property was damaged and work brought to a standstill for four weeks.
Yesterday, about 100 labourers marched to GHC’s head office in Parow, where they said GHC was in contravention of the labour law.
NUM spokesperson Benson Ngqentsu said GHC had violated labour laws, including collective agreements and had hired gangsters to murder one of their members.
“GHC failed to provide protective equipment and have made unprocedural lay-offs.
“Workers have not being remunerated correctly and the employment of gangsters as security, who killed one of our members remains a huge concern,” Ngqentsu said.
Ngqentsu said GHC also owed workers R1,3 million for loss of income after being “unduly laid off” a month ago.
“We are issuing the BIBC with this demand for compensation because we believe that if the bargaining council was taking its mandate seriously all the challenges we are faced with would not exist,” he said.
BIBC complaints manager Michael Caldecott signed the memorandum on Wednesday, saying the bargaining council had reached an agreement with GHC to review the settlement.
GHC owner Raziek Rajah said: “We have agreed in principle to review the settlement. We will audit the figures and have been given 14 days to get back the bargaining council.
“This puts us in a tough spot because if we agree to pay it’s like an admission of guilt, but if we refuse GHC will be deemed as non-compliant with the BIBC and then we may not receive tenders in future.”
carlo [email protected]
Cape Times