Lawyer says law was followed in axing Fidentia staff

He said this week that he had followed the relevant provisions of the Labour Relations Act before dismissing any staff at the company. According to the Cape Argus, Stansfield said he was aware that about 93 former employees had gone to the CCMA, but he had yet to study their demands. He said he did not attend the meeting on Monday as he had not received notice of the meeting. The matter has been postponed until the end of March. Stansfield said consultations were held with each affected company and individuals at Fidentia. In the vast majority of companies, he said, unanimous consent was reached on the need to retrench, the absence of any viable alternatives, the selection criteria to be applied in respect of each company and the timing of the dismissals. In each case, all employees agreed that dismissals should take place as soon as possible and about 630 employees had been retrenched across the Fidentia group, he said. Full Cape Argus report