Labour court dismisses Putco’s Section 197 Application
Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport, Ismail Vadi, today welcomed the judgement of the Labour Court of South Africa that dismissed Putco’s and SATAWU’s Section 197 application against Autopax, the MEC: Roads and Transport and the Minister of Transport with no order as to costs.
“We welcome the judgement in favour of the government. This decision vindicates our argument that Autopax is not legally obligated to take on Putco’s staff complement as it voluntarily terminated eight contracts with the department and is not transferring a going concern to the new operator,” said Vadi.
In the legal dispute between Putco and Autopax, the Court held that based on the facts before the Court, the temporary contract between the Department of Roads and Transport and Autopax was not sufficient to trigger Section 197 of the Labour Relations Act.
The Court held the view that the contract between the Department and Autopax did not constitute a transfer of the business as a “going concern”. The case was therefore dismissed with no order as to costs. This simply means that Autopax does not need to take over the Putco employees, said Vadi.
The Court ruled that “the components of the original business that were transferred to the new service provider, Autopax, are too meagre and fragmented to support the conclusion that the transfer of business was as a ‘going concern’”.
For more information, please contact the Department of Roads and Transport Chief Director: Communications Ms. Octavia Mamabolo on 011 355 7379 / 082 316 8666 or Octavia.mamabolo@gauteng.gov.za
