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Thread: Delivery of notices

  1. #1
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Delivery of notices

    When you take someone to court, you have to serve and have proof of delivery of notices, right?

    Does this extend to notices for the CCMA?

    Here is why I ask:
    The Land Bank's former acting chief executive, Phil Mohlahlane, was fired from the Department of Agriculture last week.

    But in the same week the ex-agricultural official won a R1,1-million default judgement in the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) against the Land Bank after officials from the bank failed to appear before the commissioner.

    The Mail & Guardian also understands that Mohlahlane will dispute his dismissal from the Department of Agriculture in the labour court.

    Mohlahlane was a deputy director general in the department, where he headed the black farmers' support section. But he was suspended from his post in September 2008 because of an investigation into alleged irregularities in the AgriBEE fund he managed.

    It is understood that this investigation was one of the reasons for his dismissal.

    Land Bank spokesperson Musa Mchunu said the bank had been informed that Mohlahlane had lodged a dispute at the CCMA, but did not attend the hearing because details of the hearing were sent to the wrong contacts at the bank.

    He said the bank only became aware of the default award when a Land Bank employee at the CCMA offices -- who was there for another matter -- was informed of it by a CCMA commissioner.

    "The Land Bank has since discovered that the fax number the CCMA used was one not used for corporate correspondence purposes on a daily basis," he said. "The CCMA has further informed the bank that it tried to contact the Land Bank on the day of the hearing but couldn't get through."

    Another Land Bank employer told the M&G that exactly the same situation arose when he went to the CCMA last year. He also won his case by default after the Land Bank representative failed to turn up.

    However, the Land Bank insisted that they had ensured the CCMA had the correct contact details after that previous experience.

    "We don't know why the CCMA sent the correspondence to the wrong address again," Land Bank boss Phakamani Hadebe said.

    He said the bank did not believe the ruling was fair and that it wanted an opportunity to present its case.
    full story from M&G here
    Notices are being sent by fax in all sorts of labour related matters. What effort is being made that those notices are, in fact, being properly received?

    Surely the onus rests on the sender to obtain some form of confirmation of delivery. More critically, if there has been absolutely no response from the respondent, what efforts are being made to ensure that notices were properly delivered before a default award is made?

  2. #2
    Gold Member garthu's Avatar
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    Tricky one hey cause it easily becomes an easy defense that it was never recieved. The proof of delivery of summons etc seems to have fallen by the way though. Also giving 7 days notice prior to summons/eviction. I suspect at some point that the law changed??? Reason i suggest that is on a site we use TPN, its used primarily for tenant management, blacklisting, summons etc when sending a letter of demand it states that an SMS, email, and hand letter will be delivered "as per legislation". The 7 day notice letter doesn't have "accepted by tenatnt/person" on the bottom!! Never bothered to look into it but the days of proof of receipt seem to have fallen to the wayside
    Garth

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    just me duncan drennan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave A View Post
    More critically, if there has been absolutely no response from the respondent, what efforts are being made to ensure that notices were properly delivered before a default award is made?
    Well, they did try to phone on the day of the hearing....makes me think of that union calendar you posted elsewhere.
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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by duncan drennan View Post
    Well, they did try to phone on the day of the hearing....
    ...where they heard there was a delivery of notice problem and then gave a default award anyway! I would have thought that would be grounds for the hearing to be held over to another day.

    Default judgements are rescinded pretty easily - would the same be applicable for default awards?

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