Osho Steel (Pty) Ltd v Ngobeni N.O. and Others

An employee, Mr Mahomad Rafiq Quereshi, resigned from Osho Steel (Pty) Ltd and referred a dispute to the CCMA. A CCMA commissioner found that his resignation amounted to a constructive dismissal in terms of section 186(1)(e) of the Labour Relations Act and awarded him compensation of R150 000 (equivalent to five months’ salary). Osho Steel launched a review application in the Labour Court to set aside the arbitration award. In doing so, it filed its notice of motion, a self-generated transcribed record of the arbitration proceedings, and a Rule 7A(8) notice simultaneously, without following the prescribed Rule 7A procedure. It also failed to furnish security as required by section 145(7)–(8) of the LRA. Quereshi opposed the review and raised preliminary points that the application was fatally defective due to non-compliance with Rule 7A and the security provisions of section 145.

The review application was dismissed due to non-compliance with Rule 7A of the Labour Court Rules and failure to comply with section 145(7) and (8) of the Labour Relations Act.

The case reinforces strict compliance with Rule 7A in Labour Court review proceedings and confirms that privately generated arbitration transcripts are not acceptable substitutes for official CCMA records. It also underscores the mandatory nature of furnishing security under section 145(7)–(8) of the LRA and clarifies that employers must make a proper, substantiated application to be exempted. The judgment highlights the Court’s intolerance of procedural shortcuts that undermine expeditious and fair dispute resolution.