Johannesburg - The SABC faces a new legal battle in its dispute with the eight suspended journalists, after it fired four of them on Monday night.
SAfm current affairs executive producer Krivani Pillay, RSG executive editor Foeta Krige, senior investigative journalist Jacques Steenkamp and senior journalist Suna Venter were fired with immediate effect by the broadcaster.
Attorneys representing the axed SABC journalists have indicated that they would be taking the matter to the Labour Court as early as Thursday.
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The lawyers believe that they have a strong case against the defiant broadcaster as the dismissals were viewed as being inconsistent with the supreme law of the country.
Last week, lawyers representing eight suspended journalists at SABC applied for direct access to the Constitutional Court.
Attorney Anton van der Bijl, the head of the labour court department at trade union Solidarity, said they were notified about the decision to fire the journalists on Monday at 7pm.
“We were informed at 7pm that they have been fired for contravening the SABC policy. We will apply to the Labour Court on Thursday that the dismissals be set aside. This is unheard of, such a decision can’t be made,” he said.
Solidarity had wanted that the suspensions and disciplinary processes against journalists opposed to censorship at the broadcaster be set aside, “pending the adjudication” by the Constitutional Court of the lawfulness of the SABC’s censorship instructions”.
Van der Bijl said they had tried to reason with the SABC to no avail. “We tried to keep the gloves on but the SABC seemed not keen on reaching an amicable solution. The gloves are now off!”
Speaking to Independent Media, one of the axed journalists said the SABC management had told them that their “continued acts of misconduct have become intolerable and our employment is thus terminated with immediate effect”.
If the eight journalists are granted direct access to the Concourt, the justices would have to determine whether the SABC’s editorial code, which has been widely criticised as unprocedural, is constitutional.
Icasa ordered the SABC to withdrawn the censorship within seven calendar days which expired on Monday.
Advocate Steven Budlender, who is representing the eight journalists, refused to comment and referred questions to attorney Nieke Venter, who in turn referred the query back to Van der Bijl.
@luyolomkentane
The Star