Section 145 of the Labour Relations Act provides for the review of an arbitration award, ruling or order issued by the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) or a bargaining council.
The review is a remedy available to all parties involved who are dissatisfied with a ward, ruling or order and who seek to have it overturned or varied by the Labour Court due to defect in the arbitration proceedings.
The review application must be initiated by way of a Notice of Motion, which sets out the grounds on which the review is sought.
The Notice of Motion must be issued and served on all the relevant parties and filed with the Registrar of the Labour Court within six weeks of the date on which the award, ruling or order was issued.
The ground for review is limited to defects such as:
- That the Commissioner committed misconduct in relation to the duties of the Commissioner as an arbitrator;
- That the Commissioner committed a gross irregularity in the conduct of the arbitration proceedings;
- That the Commissioner exceeded the Commissioner’s powers;
It is important to take note that other important timeframes also should be complied with such as the delivery of bundles, finalising the review application etc.
