Key points
- TAWUSA skipped arbitration citing deregistration, the court ruled the excuse invalid.
- Doris Louw Williams is reinstated and awarded R142 000 in backpay.
- Legal manoeuvres can’t shield employers from accountability.
Doris Louw Williams waited nearly two years for justice. On 27 June 2025, the Labour Court finally gave her that by dismissing a last-ditch attempt by her former employer, the Transport and Allied Workers Union of South Africa (TAWUSA), to dodge accountability.
In a scathing ruling, Judge R Daniels found that the union had no valid excuse for failing to attend the arbitration where Williams challenged her dismissal. Despite claims that it had been deregistered and thus unable to defend itself, the court held that TAWUSA still had legal standing and a duty to show up.
“The union had every right and responsibility to appear. It didn’t. That failure can’t now be used to stop the enforcement of a lawful award,” said Judge Daniels. Now, after months of delay, Williams has been awarded reinstatement and more than R142 000 in backpay.
A union that didn’t show up
Williams turned to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) in August 2023, alleging unfair dismissal. But when the arbitration rolled around in September 2024, TAWUSA never arrived. Just two days before, the union had emailed the CCMA stating it had been deregistered and the matter should be scrapped. The commission proceeded anyway.
The commissioner ruled in Williams’ favour in October 2024, awarding her compensation and reinstatement, and the outcome was later certified as a court order.
When the union failed to comply, Williams turned to the Sheriff to enforce it. That’s when TAWUSA rushed to court seeking to block the execution.
Court: No excuse
In rejecting TAWUSA’s bid, the court clarified that deregistration under the Labour Relations Act does not dissolve a union. It removes certain privileges, not its legal obligations.
“The union could have, and should have, attended the arbitration as an employer,” Judge Daniels ruled. “That it chose not to is no reason to delay justice.”
The court further warned against weaponising procedure to frustrate workers’ rights, calling out a pattern of delay that, if unchecked, undermines trust in the justice system.
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