Nutrichem (Pty) Ltd v Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union and Others

Nutrichem (Pty) Ltd employed the second and further respondents in various operational roles. After an unprotected strike in September 2018 concerning minimum wages, the employees joined the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union, which by March 2019 represented about half of the workforce. Nutrichem initiated a retrenchment process under section 189 of the Labour Relations Act due to financial difficulties but failed initially to include the union in consultations. A short-time agreement was reached in April 2019 to avoid retrenchments. Following a letter from shop stewards dated 20 May 2019 expressing dissatisfaction with the implementation of short-time and alleging unfair practices, Nutrichem terminated the employment of 18 union members on 31 May 2019, claiming the short-time agreement had been cancelled and retrenchment was necessary. Replacement labour was hired shortly thereafter.

The appeal was dismissed. The Labour Court’s order declaring the dismissals automatically unfair under section 187(1)(d) of the LRA was confirmed, together with the relief granted by that court.

The case reinforces protection against automatically unfair dismissals linked to trade union membership and activities. It confirms that courts may consider the full factual matrix, including procedural irregularities, to determine the true reason for dismissal, and underscores limits on raising new jurisdictional points on appeal.