The Constitutional Court has dismissed the application by the Health and Allied Workers Indaba Trade Union (Haitu) for leave to appeal the Labour Court’s decision granting an order to the Department of Employment & Labour (DoEL) to place it under administration.
IOL reports that the union accused the department of “bullying independent unions using the powers granted to it by the Labour Relations Act”, and of being “a hired gun …on a mission to destroy and loot targeted independent unions”.
Haitu President Rich Sicina said that “sweetheart unions aligned to the employer and Cosatu …and by extension, the government, are allowed to parade freely in a pool of gross non-compliance as long as they chant slogans to the government”.
He added that the registrar had been successful in ensuring many independent unions were de-registered and “made to focus on defending their existence against the (department), instead of defending workers”.
“They are forced to use workers’ money to defend themselves against state attorneys. …Initially, the (departmeny) wanted to de-register the Young Nurses Indaba Trade Union (YNITU) and even refused to register the union’s new name (Haitu), and the new constitution adopted at the third National Congress but surprisingly, it made a U-turn, after the legal push back from Haitu,” Sicina said.
Haitu said it would continue to deliver a service. However, it must work with an administrator appointed by the department to convene its national congress and officiate over administrative affairs for a full year.
Sicina said the the union did not view this as a setback, “because the first prize for the state was to de-register Haitu – and that plan fell apart”.
“Placing us under administration is its consolation prize, as it is temporary, and once the congress has been completed, we expect the administrator to vacate immediately, and we will continue to run our affairs as a union.
“They will fail to prevent us from forming part of the Public Health and Social Development Sectoral Bargaining Council.”
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