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Johannesburg - The Supreme Court of Appeal has found that
trade unions can be held liable for damage caused by workers during strikes.
In the judgment on Tuesday, which upheld an earlier ruling
by the Western Cape High Court, Justice Mahomed Navsa wrote that the country
"could not be subjected to the tyranny of the mob".
"In the past the majority of the population was
subjected to the tyranny of the state," the Cape Times newspaper quoted
Navsa as saying.
"We cannot now be subjected to the tyranny of the
mob."
The high court ruling favoured eight people, including
traders whose stalls were looted and smashed and motorists whose vehicles were
wrecked, during a SA Transport and Allied Workers Union protest in the Cape
Town city centre in May 2006.
The group is claiming R70 000 in damages.
Advocate Anton Katz, who took on the case pro bono with
advocate Darryl Cooke and attorney Amanda Torr, welcomed the ruling, saying it
would have "major implications" for other incidents where people's
property had been damaged as a result of organised protests.
The matter was initially headed by Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe, who ruled in favour of the eight applicants.
