Wallennius Wilhelmsen Logistics Vehicle Services v National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and Others

The appellant employer and NUMSA fell within the Motor Industry Bargaining Council (MIBCO). NUMSA demanded at plant level that the appellant pay its members an additional R40 per working day as a so‑called transport allowance. The demand was not linked to actual transport costs and effectively constituted a wage increase. The 2013 MIBCO collective agreement, which entrenched centralised bargaining and prohibited plant‑level bargaining on matters of mutual interest, expired on 31 August 2016. After conciliation failed, NUMSA issued strike notices. The employer obtained interim interdicts restraining the strike, but the Labour Court discharged the rule nisi, holding that no enforceable collective agreement was operative at the time and that the MIBCO constitutional provisions did not prohibit the strike. The employer appealed.

The appeal was upheld. The Labour Court’s order was set aside and substituted with an order confirming the rule nisi interdicting the strike. NUMSA was ordered to pay the costs of the appeal.

The case clarifies that bargaining council constitutions are binding collective agreements that can impose substantive prohibitions on plant‑level bargaining, even in periods when a main collective agreement has expired. It reinforces the principle of centralised bargaining in sectors governed by bargaining councils and limits attempts at two‑tier bargaining.