- Three company directors could be jailed for repeatedly ignoring a court order to reinstate a worker dismissed after lodging a wage complaint.
- Vusimusi Hlope has been jobless for more than three years after his unfair dismissal, despite rulings from the bargaining council and Labour Court in his favour.
- Rights groups warn that ongoing defiance undermines the authority of the Labour Court and threatens legal protections for workers.
Three directors of Integrated Business Supply are scheduled to appear at the Johannesburg Labour Court at 10am on 11 November 2025 to explain why they should not be committed to jail for contempt of court.
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) said in a statement, “Should they fail to satisfactorily explain why they have defied the court’s ruling, they will be committed to jail.”
This legal confrontation stems from the dismissal of Vusimusi Hlope in September 2021 after he complained about his wages. The Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council ruled that his dismissal “was unfair and ordered that Hlope be reinstated with effect from 28 October 2022.” The company did not comply with that ruling, forcing the matter to court.
The court found the directors guilty of contempt
On 16 November 2023, the Labour Court found directors Evan and Michael Linley and Karien Stassen guilty of contempt of court. The court “fined R150 000, suspended for 30 days on condition they reinstate Hlope.” The statement continues that they “neither reinstated Hlope nor paid the fine.”
Exasperated by this defiance and committed to justice for Hlope, the Casual Workers Advice Office and Lawyers for Human Rights returned to the Labour Court on 28 August this year “with an application for the arrest of the delinquent directors.”
The strategy of delay is criticised
Throughout the dispute, the company is described as having “employed a Stalingrad legal strategy.” This is said to include “the launching of reviews of the original Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council ruling and a recission application of the court’s contempt order.”
These legal moves “followed a pattern in which the company used each application to disrupt attempts to have the 2023 contempt order enforced and Hlope reinstated.” The statement notes that “they have not followed up on these applications, revealing them as a spoiling tactic.”
The rule of law requires that court orders be obeyed
Buhle Sibiya, a Legal Counsellor at Lawyers for Human Rights, said, “Unfortunately, we see defiance of the rule of law all too often. We trust the Labour Court will assert its authority in this and other cases of unfair dismissal and that justice prevails. The rule of law requires that court orders be obeyed.”
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