BUSA instituted review proceedings on two occasions in the Labour Court to set aside the regulations but the most recent application pertaining to the re-promulgation of the Regulation 4(4) was dismissed last year. BUSA subsequently launched an appeal against the judgment of the Labour Court.
The appeal was heard in the Johannesburg Labour Appeal Court on 20 August 2019. Judgment has been handed down and the appeal was successful. The Labour Appeal Court held that there was no clear explanation from the Minister as to what he, as the decision-maker who promulgated Regulation 4(4) considered had changed in the context of giving rise to the decision to promulgate the same regulation. The Labour Court’s judgment has been set aside and is replaced with the following:
a. Regulation 4(4) as promulgated in Government Notice 23 of 2016, published in Government Gazette 39592 in terms of the Skills Development Act 97 of 1998 is set aside.
b. The first respondent (Minister of Higher Education and Training) is ordered to pay the costs of this application.
Should members have any queries please contact Tshidi Ndebele (Tshidin@sacci.org.za )