This in Legal Brief today.
"Comair asks for more time to prepare papers
Comair is seeking an extension to file papers to the Labour Court over its alleged breach of employment equity laws to allow its lawyers more time to prepare, Comair CEO Eric Venter said yesterday, according to a report on the FIN24 site. ‘Because this is the first time the Department of Labour has done an employment equity review and court case, our senior counsel recommended that we spend more time reviewing the documents,’ said Venter. It also submitted a letter of demand to the Minister of Labour asking that the department stop issuing what it believes are inaccurate and defamatory statements. The matter has not yet been set down to be heard in the Labour Court, said Venter, adding that if it supplied all the information required in its answering papers, the matter may not get that far."
Good luck to Comair on this one. They have indicated in other media that they intend opposing this matter all the way. I am still debating the wisdom of opposing at all. It may be better to come to some sort of amicable agreement with the Dept of Labour and settle the matter out of court. Interesting times could lie ahead should Comair win the case as a precedent will then have been set opening a can of worms for the ANC government. There are other companies on the Labour Dept "name and shame" list who are waiting to see how this pans out. If in Comairs favour there is likely to be a rush to go the same way. This matter is then likely to go all the way to the constitutional court as the highest court in the land. If Comair should win that round too, then my bet is the ANC gov will change the constitution. The implications of this is that AA will be enshrined in the constitution forever. In the unlikely event any other party wins an election in the future they will have to win by a 2/3rd majority before they will be able to address the AA matter at all.