JB Marks Local Municipality v South African Local Government Bargaining Council and Others

The applicant municipality launched a review application on 27 March 2018 to review and set aside an arbitration award issued on 10 February 2018 under the auspices of the SALGBC. The arbitrator had reinstated the third respondent employee with retrospective effect and back pay. After launching the review, the applicant failed to take further procedural steps for more than six months. The supplementary affidavit was only filed around November 2018, and the transcribed record of the arbitration proceedings was delivered on 5 September 2019, well outside the 60‑day period prescribed by the Labour Court Practice Manual. No application for condonation or for retrieval of the matter from the archive was brought.

The review application was struck from the roll as it was deemed to have been withdrawn in terms of clause 11.2.2 of the Labour Court Practice Manual. No order as to costs was made.

The judgment reinforces the binding nature of the Labour Court Practice Manual and confirms that non‑compliance with its time limits has automatic and jurisdictional consequences. It affirms that review applications are deemed withdrawn if the record is not filed within 60 days, without the need for a formal archiving application by the opposing party. The case underscores the Labour Court’s commitment to expeditious dispute resolution and procedural discipline in review proceedings.