The Kheis local municipality in the Northern Cape has been compelled by the High Court in Kimberley to immediately pay salaries of its staff that have not been religiously paid as they should be since February this year.
The court victory follows a court application by municipal labour union, SAMWU (South African Municipal Workers’ Union) which approached the court on urgent basis to compel the municipality to honour its publication.
That was after the municipality recently circulated a memo to employees and told them that it has financial difficulties and as such, it would not be able to pay their May salaries on time – again.
That angered SAMWU which took the matter to court on urgent basis. The COSATU affiliated union joined several departments in the application including COGTA in the province and the national Treasury in the case.
SAMWU argued that the failure by the Northern Cape government to place the ANC-run municipality under administration constitutes a breach of section 139(7) of the Constitution.
In its ruling, the court said it is trite that, as long as an employee tenders his or her services to the employer, such employee is entitled to be paid his or her earnings and other benefits as and when they are due under the applicable contract, sectoral determination or collective agreement.
It then ruled in favour of SAMWU.
“The undisputed failure by the Municipality to make payment of the salaries of the SAMWU members in the present matter, despite continuous tendering of services by such employees, constitutes a breach of a material term of the employment contracts between the parties and should be frowned upon,” the court added.
In a statement after the victory, SAMWU said for far too long, the local government sector across South Africa has operated with a systemic disregard for employment contracts and labour laws.
It added that this widespread neglect is most starkly evident in the recurring and often prolonged delays in salary payments, compounded by the alarming and equally destructive failure to remit essential third-party contributions such as medical aid, pension fund payments, and funeral policies, many of which are left months, if not years, in arrears.
“This creates a devastating ripple effect, jeopardising workers’ access to healthcare, their future retirement security, and even dignified burials for their loved ones. Such practices constitute a flagrant breach of signed employment contracts, as explicitly affirmed by the Court, and impose an intolerable and unjust burden on workers and their families.
“These deductions are not optional, they are essential to workers’ daily survival, financial stability, and long-term well-being. The High Court’s unequivocal ruling reinforces the principle that financial mismanagement, however severe or entrenched, can never justify the non-payment of salaries, which are an inalienable and fundamental right of every employee,” the union said.
