LABOUR ACT [Chapter 28:01] (as amended)
(5) An employer may not employ any person for
the purpose of performing the work of an employee who is locked out.
109 Liability of persons engaged in
unlawful collective action
(1) If a workers committee, trade union, employers organisation or federation of registered
trade unions or employers organisations (hereinafter in this section called a “responsible person”),
or any individual employer or employee or group
of individual employers or employees, recommends, advises, encourages, threatens, incites,
commands, aids, procures, organises or engages,
in any collective action which is prohibited in
terms of subsection (3) of section one hundred and
four, the responsible person, and every official or
office-bearer of the responsible person, or, as the
case may be, individual employer or employee or
group of individual employers or employees, shall
be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not
exceeding level fourteen or to imprisonment for a
period not exceeding five years or to both such fine
and such imprisonment.
(2) Any person other than a person referred to
in subsection (1) who recommends, advises,
encourages, threatens, incites, commands, aids or
procures any collective action which is prohibited
in terms of subsection (3) of section one hundred
and four, with the intention or realising that there
is a risk or possibility of bringing about such
collective action, shall be guilty of an offence and
liable to a fine not exceeding level fourteen or to
imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years
or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
The test referred to in section 3 of the Public
Order and Security Act [Chapter 11:17] shall
apply to determining whether or not the person
whose conduct is in issue realised that there was a
risk or possibility that his conduct might bring
about the collective action referred to in this
subsection.
(3) The Minister may, by order in writing
served on—
(a) a trade union or employers organisation
which he believes on reasonable grounds to
be in contravention of subsection (1); and
(b) the employment council to which the trade
union or employers organisation referred to
in paragraph (a) is a party; and
(c) any employer who is party to a collective
bargaining agreement with the trade union
referred to in paragraph (a);
suspend for such period, not exceeding twelve
months, as shall be specified in the order, the right
of the trade union to levy, collect or recover union
dues by means of a check-off scheme, or the right
of the employers organisation to collect membership fees.
(4) An order referred to in subsection (3) may
be issued together with, or independently or
instead of, a show cause order.
(5) If—
(a) criminal proceedings against a trade union
or employers organisation referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (3)—
Re-issue
(i) are not instituted within thirty days of
the date of service of the order referred
to in subsection (3) on the trade union
or employers organisation; or
(ii) end otherwise than in conviction;
or
(b) the Labour Court declines to grant a disposal
order;
the order shall be deemed to have been cancelled
with effect from the last day for the institution of
criminal proceedings in terms of paragraph (a), or
the date of acquittal or withdrawal of the criminal
proceedings, or the date when the Labour Court
declined to grant an order referred to in paragraph
(b), whichever is the earliest date.
(6) In addition to any penalty that may be imposed under subsection (1) or (2) and without
derogation from any other remedy available under
any other law—
(a) a responsible person, and every official or
office-bearer of the responsible person, and
every individual employer or employee who
participates in any unlawful collective action; or
(b) a person referred to in subsection (2);
as the case may be, shall be jointly and severally
liable, at the suit of any injured party, for any
injury to or death of a person, loss of or damage to
property or other economic loss, including the
perishing of goods caused by employees’ absence
from work, caused by or arising out of or occurring during such collective action.
(7) Subject to Part XIX of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act [Chapter 9:07], a court
which has convicted a person of any offence in
terms of subsection (1) that involves any loss,
damage, injury or death for which that person is
liable in terms of this section shall forthwith
award compensation to any person who has
suffered personal injury or whose right or interest
in property of any description has been lost or
diminished as a direct result of the offence.
110 Appeals
(1) Any person who is aggrieved by—
(a) a show cause order or the refusal to make
such order; or
(b) a disposal order made by an appropriate
authority or by the refusal of any such authority to make such order;
may appeal to the Labour Court.
(2) The lodging of an appeal in terms of subsection (1) shall not affect any order appealed against:
Provided that pending the determination of the
appeal, the Minister or the appropriate authority
may give such directions to, or impose such
restrictions on, any of the parties as he considers
fair and reasonable, taking into account the respective rights of the parties and the public interest.
111 Cessation of collective job action
Whenever—
(a) the underlying cause of any collective job
action or lock-out which is threatened, anticipated or in force has been removed; or
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