Lekganyane v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and Another

The applicant was employed by the Road Accident Fund (RAF) from 1 July 2008 and dismissed for misconduct in November 2015. His dismissal was upheld by the CCMA at arbitration. On review, the Labour Court set aside the arbitration award on 12 February 2019 and remitted the dispute to the CCMA for a de novo arbitration before a different commissioner. When the matter was re-enrolled, the arbitration was postponed on several occasions, largely because the RAF had filed (and later pursued) an application to rescind the Labour Court’s order. The CCMA stayed the arbitration pending the outcome of the rescission application. Aggrieved by these postponements, the applicant brought an urgent application seeking to have the CCMA declared in contempt of court for allegedly failing to comply with the remittal order.

The application was struck from the roll for lack of urgency, with costs awarded against the applicant on the attorney-and-client scale.

The case underscores the Labour Court’s firm stance against the abuse of urgent court procedures and clarifies that postponements or stays of CCMA proceedings, particularly in the context of pending rescission or review applications, do not amount to contempt of court. It reinforces procedural discipline in contempt applications and signals the court’s willingness to grant punitive costs where litigation is frivolous or vexatious.