National Union of Mineworkers and Another v Samancor Limited (Tubatse Ferrochrome) and Others

Mr Marifi Johannes Maloma was employed by Samancor Limited as a furnace operator since 1996. In March 2006 he was arrested on a robbery charge, released after 14 days, and returned to work. In May 2006 he was again arrested on the same charge and detained for approximately 140 days. Ten days after this second arrest, Samancor terminated his employment while he was still in detention, without a prior hearing, although a post‑dismissal hearing was later held after his release. Samancor declined to reinstate him. Mr Maloma referred an unfair dismissal dispute to arbitration under the MEIBC. The arbitrator found the dismissal substantively and procedurally unfair and ordered reinstatement with limited retrospective effect. Samancor unsuccessfully reviewed the award in the Labour Court but succeeded on appeal to the Labour Appeal Court, which substituted the award. Mr Maloma and his union appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal was upheld with costs. The order of the Labour Appeal Court was set aside and replaced with an order dismissing the appeal to that court with costs, thereby restoring the Labour Court’s decision upholding the arbitrator’s award.

The case is significant for reaffirming the limited scope of judicial interference with arbitration awards in labour disputes and for clarifying that reviewing courts, including the Labour Appeal Court, may not substitute their own views on fairness for that of the arbitrator. It reinforces the Sidumo reasonableness standard and underscores the deference owed to specialised labour dispute resolution mechanisms.