ISS Loses Bid To Have NBCRFLI Demarcation Award Stayed

The Labour Court has dismissed the urgent application by Innovative Staffing Solutions (ISS) to stop the National Bargaining Council of the Road Freight and Logistics Industries (NBCRFLI) from taking any further action against it pending the outcome of the review of the NBCRFLI Demarcation Award.

At the beginning of March 2021, the CCMA handed down a Demarcation Award finding that ISS fell under the registered scope of the Council and as such, it should comply with the Main Collective Agreement(MCA).

ISS successfully applied for a review of the Demarcation Award which is still pending.

Following the launching of the review application, on 5 November 2021, ISS launched an urgent application to obtain an interdict against the NBCRFLI in order to prevent the NBCRFLI from taking any further action against ISS, pending the finalisation of the review application.

The NBCRFLI opposed the relief sought by ISS and made a counter application.

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After this application was argued and on 24 November 2021, the Labour Court Judge D Mahosi dismissed ISS’ application and granted the Council’s counter application ordering that, pending the final determination of ISS’ application to review the CCMA Award against it:

• ISS is interdicted and restrained from holding out to any road freight companies that it is entitled not to comply with the Council’s Main Collective Agreement, or that section 198(3) of the LRA is not applicable to its operations.
• ISS is further interdicted and restrained from advising any road freight companies that, if it engages its services in terms of its standard service level agreement that the employees will no longer be subjected to the provisions of the Main Collective Agreement.
• That ISS is required to comply with the provisions of the Main Collective Agreement.

In an emailed response to SA Trucker’s request for comment, ISS, through its lawyer SD Hefferman, stated that the judgement is in the process of being appealed.

Hefferman went on to threaten this reporter with unspecified action for publishing contents of the NBCRFLI circular of 13 July 2021, which he claims as falsehoods.