IOL News writes that the Labour Court in Johannesburg has upheld the dismissal of a senior mine overseer employed by Seriti Coal, finding that his repeated failures to enforce critical underground safety standards posed a severe operational and safety risk at the company’s New Denmark Colliery. Judge Reynaud Neil Daniels reviewed and overturned an earlier arbitration ruling that had reinstated mine overseer Godfrey Rasmeni with back pay after his dismissal in 2019.
The court found that the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) had ignored material evidence, failed to apply the correct legal principles, and reached an unreasonable outcome by concluding that dismissal was too harsh despite finding Rasmeni guilty of misconduct. Rasmeni had worked as a mine overseer at the New Denmark Colliery, a managerial role responsible for supervising underground mining operations and ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations.
His duties included daily inspections of underground work areas and the mandatory signing of shift boss logbooks, which are used to identify hazards and record safety issues underground. The disciplinary process against Rasmeni began after a routine audit conducted on 3 April 2019 by strata control officer Lucky Nkosi uncovered multiple dangerous safety deviations in an underground work area known as “split thirty-one”. The audit found that the area had not been properly supported, critical roof support equipment known as Oslo straps had not been installed, telltale monitoring devices used to detect roof movement were missing, and several roof bolts had not been fitted.
The audit further found that unsafe areas had not been barricaded and that a required support sign-off book was missing from the section. The deviations were classified as “Class A” hazards, meaning they were considered serious enough that work should not continue in the affected area until the issues were corrected. Evidence before the court showed that Rasmeni had undertaken to rectify the problems by 10 April 2019, but management considered the delay unacceptable given the seriousness of the hazards. Witnesses testified that the absence of telltales and other support systems created a risk of underground roof collapse that could potentially lead to fatalities.
The court heard that Rasmeni also failed to inspect and sign the shift boss logbook daily for more than a week, despite acknowledging that the law required him to do so. Managers testified that the daily inspection and signing of the logbook was critical because it enabled mine overseers to identify safety risks and ensure that problems underground were addressed immediately.
During the disciplinary hearing, Rasmeni was additionally accused of dishonesty after altering the date on an inspection report from 10 April to 1 April, allegedly to create the impression that he had inspected the area before the dangerous conditions were identified in the audit. Rasmeni admitted changing the date but claimed he had simply made an error when completing the document.
The company’s witnesses disputed his explanation, saying the underground mining progress recorded in the area made it impossible for him to have conducted the inspection on 1 April. Evidence was also presented that Rasmeni had the authority and resources to source the equipment needed to fix the hazards but failed to do so urgently.
Rasmeni defended himself by claiming that the required drilling equipment and couplings were unavailable at the time and had been ordered from mine stores weeks earlier. However, the court found his evidence contradictory and unconvincing, noting that he failed to properly explain when he became aware of the shortages and why he did not escalate the issue sooner.
The earlier arbitration ruling by the CCMA had accepted that Rasmeni committed misconduct but concluded that dismissal was unfair because other mine overseers received lesser sanctions for similar conduct. The commissioner ordered that Rasmeni be reinstated with retrospective back pay.
Judge Daniels sharply criticised that conclusion, finding that the commissioner failed to properly compare the circumstances of the other employees with Rasmeni’s conduct. The court noted that another mine overseer, Kgahliso Mokoena, had only been found guilty of failing to sign a logbook and had admitted wrongdoing, while Rasmeni was guilty of multiple serious safety breaches and showed little remorse.
The judgment stressed that Rasmeni failed to discipline subordinates, failed to urgently address life-threatening safety deviations, and appeared to regard dangerous underground conditions as a routine part of mining operations. Judge Daniels said the commissioner failed to appreciate the strict legal obligations imposed on mine overseers under the Mine Health and Safety Act and overlooked the seriousness of the risks posed by the safety failures.
The court also criticised the commissioner for focusing too heavily on alleged inconsistency in discipline while ignoring important distinctions between Rasmeni and other employees. Daniels emphasised that consistency in discipline does not mean identical outcomes in every case and that employers are entitled to impose harsher sanctions where misconduct is materially more serious.
In overturning the arbitration award, the judge found that the commissioner had ignored material evidence, misapplied legal principles relating to inconsistent discipline and remedies, and failed to properly assess whether reinstatement was appropriate given the breakdown in trust between the parties.
The court concluded that Rasmeni’s continued employment would have posed a severe operational risk because of his apparent indifference toward underground safety standards. Judge Daniels ultimately substituted the arbitration award with a ruling that Rasmeni’s dismissal was both procedurally and substantively fair, bringing the lengthy labour dispute to an end.
by Sinenhlanhla Masilela