Cape Town - A former City of Cape Town employee who was dismissed after allegedly assaulting another colleague in a work parking lot has failed in his effort in the Labour Court to have his dismissal reviewed.
The former employee and maintenance staff member, identified as D. Booysen in court documents, had been employed in the City for about 30 years when the alleged altercation occurred between him and an E Fisher.
Responding to the judgment, the City of Cape Town said: “The City is pleased with the outcome of the Labour Court judgment. The judgment confirms the City’s strong stance against assault taking place in the workplace as a form of misconduct. The City cannot condone this type of premeditated assault of one staff member against another and agrees with both the arbitrator and the judge that dismissal was the appropriate sanction in this instance.”
According to the judgment, Booysen was charged with misconduct and was found guilty of physically assaulting Fisher during August 2017.
According to Fisher’s testimony, he had been retrieving items from the passenger side of his vehicle when he was approached by Booysen who was swearing.
When Booysen ‘was upon him’, Fisher said he nudged him away with his shoulder so that he could close the door of his vehicle.
Fisher claimed Booysen “grabbed him around the neck using his left hand and started hitting him in his face with his right hand until he fell next to the door of the truck”.
Booysen only stopped his assault when his supervisor and another colleague intervened.
As a result of the assault Fisher’s eye was injured and he lost all his front teeth.
The altercation stemmed from Booysen who took offence to an alleged remark made by Fisher to another manager, who had been complaining about the failure of the maintenance staff to repair a door.
He confronted Fisher the following Monday morning after telling his supervisor he would do so.
Fisher claimed Booysen said to him: “this is the last time you will take me for a (laaitie/a boy)” when the physical altercation occurred.
The arbitrator in the disciplinary matter accepted that assault in the workplace was a form of misconduct.
Judge Robert Lagrange said: “The arbitrator correctly made the point that an employer does not need to prove the existence of a rule that criminal misconduct also happens to be unacceptable in the workplace. The arbitrator’s emphasis on this point was simply to make the point that because assault is a criminal offence, it would naturally be seen as a serious form of misconduct in the workplace, and that it should go without saying that it is unacceptable…
“In conclusion, it cannot be said on the totality of the evidence that the arbitrator committed any reviewable irregularity in his assessment of the evidence or his conduct of the proceedings, and the award should stand. There is virtually no merit in the review application,” said Lagrange.
Cape Times