Dr. Blade Nzimande, Minister of Higher Education and Training, welcomed the decision of the General Public Service Sectoral Bargaining Council (GPSSBC) to dismiss the application of the department’s former Director-General, Gwebinkundla Qonde.
Qonde said that he was treated unjustly. This follows a similar suit that was denied earlier this year by the Labour Court.
The former Director-General requested that the GPSSBC assess whether he had been exposed to an unfair labour practise in relation to his demotion. On 2 December 2022, GPSSBC Commissioner PM Ngako heard the application.
Ngako determined that the GPSSBC cannot adjudicate the applicant’s disagreement because he did not utilise the Grievance Form at Annexure A to file his grievance in accordance with the grievance process outlined in Chapter 10 of the Senior Management Service (SMS) Handbook clause 1.2 and 6(a).
The Commissioner thus claimed that Council lacks the authority to decide on Qonde’s dispute.
“As a result the applicant failed to comply with the grievance procedure set out in Chapter 10 of the SMS Handbook, conditions that are peremptory. He failed to refer his grievance in a prescribed form. In terms of the SMS Handbook, the applicant failed to lodge a grievance before referring a dispute to the Council.
“The two letters of complaint that he wrote to the President was not in compliance of the grievance procedure as set out in the SMS Handbook and the Public Service Act. As result I find the applicant has failed to exhaust internal grievance proceedings before referring his unfair labour practice dispute to Council and as result Council does not have jurisdiction to adjudicate over the applicant’s dispute,” said the Commissioner.
Nzimande said that the General Public Service Sectoral Bargaining Council’s decision has vindicated him.
“This decision reafirms that the Public Service Act and the SMS Handbook, are the basic legal prescripts governing senior public servants’ employment in the public service,” Nzimande said.
Minister stated that it is distressing that Qonde, a former Director-General of the Department of Higher Education, failed to understand these fundamental regulations.
“It is clear that Qonde was looking for something to tarnish the Minister’s reputation for political reasons. All those gullible media houses and other detractors who climbed on the bandwagon to try and discredit the Minister will take note of these outcomes and developments,” Nzimande said.