Rights of labour broking worker recognised

A recent Labour Court ruling recognised the vulnerability of workers in temporary employment as the 'weakest and most vulnerable' in the triangular relationship encompassing the worker, the labour broker and its client. It held that arbitrators and courts should not take all labour broking arrangements as 'presumptively valid on face value as soon as a signed contract is put up by an employer.' According to the report, the Labour Court in Cape Town handed down the judgment - which showed an increasing willingness by the court to go beyond the 'contractual relationship' between an employee and a labour broker. The case involved an employee of Mondi, who was hired by the company, but was told to sign a contract with a labour broker after two years, which he did. The employee, Khululekile Dyokwe, continued to work for Mondi for five and a half years and was then dismissed. He referred the matter to the CCMA to determine who his true employer was at the time of his dismissal. The CCMA found that the employer was the labour broker, Adecco. He then took the matter to the Labour Court for review. The Labour Court found that Mondi was the employer, and set aside the CCMA's earlier decision. Full Business Day report