SG Bulk, a Division of Supergroup Africa (Pty) Ltd v Khumalo and Another; In re: Nkuna v NBCRFLI and Others

The judgment concerned two separate Rule 11 applications brought in the Labour Court. In the first matter, SG Bulk sought the dismissal of an unfair dismissal referral by Mr Khumalo on the basis of undue delay, after the parties failed to convene a pre-trial conference for approximately one year and four months following the exchange of pleadings. In the second matter, Imperial Distribution sought the dismissal of a review application launched by Mr Nkuna in 2013, which had become deemed withdrawn under the Labour Court Practice Manual due to Nkuna’s failure over two years to prosecute the review. Despite the deemed withdrawal, the applicant applied for the review to be formally dismissed.

Both Rule 11 applications were dismissed. No order as to costs was made.

The judgment clarifies the limits of the Labour Court’s jurisdiction in respect of deemed withdrawn or lapsed review applications and confirms that Rule 11 cannot be used to circumvent the procedures set out in the Labour Court Rules and Practice Manual. It reinforces the distinction between dismissal and striking off or archiving, and contributes to certainty in procedural labour law following conflicting interpretations of Macsteel.