Union for Police Security and Corrections Organisation v South African Custodial Management (Pty) Ltd and Others

The applicant, a registered trade union, acted on behalf of its members employed by South African Custodial Management (Pty) Ltd and its subcontractors at the Kutama Sinthumule Correctional Facility. A Task Team comprising the union, the employers and the Department of Correctional Services produced an audit report dealing with remuneration structures and employment conditions, pursuant to agreed project and engagement documents. The union contended that these documents and the report were binding and sought enforcement in the Labour Court. The Labour Court upheld an exception that it lacked jurisdiction, finding the documents constituted a collective agreement whose enforcement fell under section 24 of the Labour Relations Act and thus within the CCMA’s jurisdiction. While initially making no costs order in the main application, the Labour Court later dismissed leave to appeal and ordered the union to pay costs without providing reasons. The Labour Appeal Court dismissed a petition without a costs order. The union approached the Constitutional Court challenging both the merits and the costs order.

Leave to appeal on the merits was refused. Leave to appeal against the Labour Court’s costs order was granted. The appeal against the costs order was upheld and the Labour Court’s costs order was set aside. No order as to costs was made in the Constitutional Court.

The case reaffirms the exclusive role of the CCMA in resolving disputes about the interpretation and application of collective agreements under section 24 of the LRA. More importantly, it provides a detailed constitutional and statutory justification for the principle that costs do not ordinarily follow the result in labour matters, clarifying that adverse costs orders require reasons and a proper application of the fairness standard in section 162 of the LRA. It strengthens access to labour dispute resolution institutions and underscores their role in upholding the rule of law.