National Education Health and Allied Workers Union v Minister of Public Service and Administration and Others; South African Democratic Teachers Union and Others v Department of Public Service and Administration and Others; Public Servants Association and

4th March 2022

National Education Health and Allied Workers Union v Minister of Public Service and Administration and Others; South African Democratic Teachers Union and Others v Department of Public Service and Administration and Others; Public Servants Association and

Click here to read the judgment on Saflii

[1]  In this matter the applicant unions, representing their respective members employed in the public sector, seek leave to appeal against the judgment and order of the Labour Appeal Court, in which it declared the enforcement of clause 3.3 of Resolution 1: Agreement on the Salary Adjustments and Improvements on Conditions of Service in the Public Service for the Period 2018/2019; 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 (the collective agreement), regulating the salary structures of public service employees for three consecutive financial years, invalid and unlawful.  The Labour Appeal Court dismissed the application for enforcement of such collective agreement on the grounds that it had been concluded in contravention of regulations 78 and 79 of the Public Service Regulations (Regulations),[1] read with sections 213, 215 and 216 of the Constitution.

[2]  At issue in this matter is the validity and enforceability of clause 3.3 of the collective agreement concluded in 2018 between the State and various trade unions, which determined public sector wage increases for the 2020/2021 period.