Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union v UASA – The Union and Others

AMCU, the majority union at Eastern and Western Platinum Ltd (Lonmin’s Marikana Operations), concluded a 2013 recognition agreement setting representivity thresholds for organisational rights under s 18 of the LRA. NUM, UASA and Solidarity later formed a coalition to seek organisational rights under ss 12, 13 and 15 of the LRA, despite not meeting the agreed thresholds. They relied on s 21(8C) of the LRA, claiming to represent a significant interest or a substantial number of employees. At CCMA arbitration, the parties agreed in a pre-arbitration minute on historical union membership figures as at 31 October 2017, but there was no agreement on the coalition’s membership as at the arbitration hearing in October 2018. The arbitrator granted organisational rights to the coalition, relying largely on the historical figures and on representivity within employee categories C and D. AMCU unsuccessfully reviewed the award in the Labour Court and appealed to the Labour Appeal Court.

The appeal was upheld. The Labour Court’s order was set aside. The arbitration award granting organisational rights to the coalition was reviewed and set aside, and the dispute was referred back to the CCMA to be heard afresh by a different commissioner.

The case clarifies that minority unions seeking organisational rights under s 21(8C) of the LRA must prove current membership at the time of arbitration. Representivity must be assessed across the entire workplace, not selectively within employee categories. The judgment reinforces evidentiary standards in organisational rights disputes and limits reliance on historical or artificially preserved membership figures.