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IOL News reports that a former Free State National Botanical Gardens employee, who was fired for operating a loan shark business at work, has lost his appeal at the Labour Court to get his job back.
Monapole Daniel Kaweng worked as a specialist machine operator and was also a shop steward before he was found guilty of engaging in an unlawful money-lending scheme at work. Kaweng was dismissed in August 2021. Unhappy with the dismissal, he took the matter to the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), where he claimed he had been involved in a stokvel, and not an unlawful money-lending scheme. However, his version that he was a member of a stokvel was rejected and the CCMA found that the sanction of dismissal was appropriate. Kaweng took the matter to the Labour Court in Johannesburg on appeal. Acting Judge Myburgh reflected on Kaweng’s evidence. “For the duration of 2017, the applicant (Kaweng) participated in the money-lending scheme at work with fellow employees (and) apparently charged exorbitant interest rates … Although it might be considered harsh, a decision to the effect that this constituted serious misconduct warranting dismissal, nevertheless, falls within a range of reasonableness and is thus not reviewable,” said the judge. Based on his participation on the money-lending scheme, Kaweng’s application was dismissed.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sinenhlanhla Masilela at IOL News
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page