by Brian Williams
I was asked at a recent peace training workshop that I hosted if the unfair dismissal of someone from employment can be regarded as violence.
My answer was an unequivocal yes. Unfair dismissals fall within the framework of structural/institutional violence.
When an individual is entrusted with public power and uses that power in a way that is prejudicial to the rights of others, then it is structural or institutional violence.
In public institutions, individuals are given power to advance the constitutional rights of others over whom they have been granted authority.
Misuse of that power also amounts to corruption.
The question at the workshop created curiosity and I decided to look at a very recent case (WECT 21399-19) where Dr Dominique Fagan was unfairly dismissed at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) but was reinstated by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) on July 21. CPUT was ordered to pay her R380913.06 on July 31 and reinstate her effective as of August 1, significantly at the start of Women’s Month.
The “Fagan case” is quite fascinating and allows for the analysis of structural and cultural violence as well as the wasting of public resources to pursue unethical agendas.
This is not the first time Fagan has won a case (WECT7583-15) at the CCMA against CPUT. Fagan is the chairperson of an independent trade union (Cape Peninsula University Employees Union - CPUEU).
CPUT is a case in point on the topic of structural violence. CPUT lost the following cases against employees associated with CPUEU: CCMA case no WECT11727-16: R252184 and promotion awarded for unfair labour practice; WECT10092-17: the CCMA ruled unfair labour practice and costs awarded against CPUT; WECT20753-16: CCMA ruled unfair labour practice and CPUT ordered to pay the applicant; WECT3058-16: unfair labour practice and CPUT ordered to pay R284106.00. There are other cases and millions of rand in fruitless and wasteful expenditure have been lost.
The chairpersons of three different trade unions at CPUT were charged with misconduct related to alleged leaking of information to the media regarding the selection and recruitment process of the vice-chancellor.
All trade union chairpersons were fired, despite Fagan being found not guilty of ever leaking such information.
Ultimately, the case against Fagan related to the presence of the photographers at the consultative meeting between the union executive and CPUT management.
The union executive was given written warnings for this offence that lasted for three months. But for the same offence, Fagan was given a final written warning by the Misconduct Hearing chairperson.
“But the final warning was changed to a dismissal by the council, the highest decision-making body of CPUT for this “single offence”.
From a transformative peace perspective, this was an abuse of public power. Fagan has been described as a “fearless woman of principle and courage and integrity who will not be bought with promises of personal promotions or privileges”.
The CCMA in its reinstatement decision made it clear that “because a manager feels intimidated does not mean that trade union representation must disappear”.
Structural violence within the workplace leads to intra-conflict and other traumas within the home. Violence in the workplaces must end especially during the current Covid-19 pandemic. CPUT should review its approaches to conflict. Peace in the workplace at CPUT is possible but a fundamentally different approach is needed.
* Professor Brian Williams is Visiting Professor in fields of Peace, Mediation and Labour Relations. University of Sacred Heart, Uganda, and chief executive: Williams Labour Law and Mediation. Thought Leader Award 2018: Issued Black Management Forum.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.