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Johannesburg - An urgent application by trade union Solidarity that it be consulted on the SA Police Service's (Saps') new equity plan was dismissed by the Labour Court in Johannesburg on Monday, police said.
"The Labour Court in Johannesburg has confirmed what the Saps has always argued: that we are not obliged to consult the likes of Solidarity on equity," Lieutenant-General Solomon Makgale said in a statement.
"The preparatory process for the adoption of the employment equity plan of the Saps is due to commence on 1 January 2015."
National police commissioner Riah Phiyega welcomed the Labour Court's decision.
"If anything, the move by Solidarity to rush to the courts was a total waste of time and energy," she said.
"Contrary to what they argued, theirs was never an urgent matter in the first place and, as we have opposed this application, the process for the adoption of employment equity was ours alone."
Makgale said Solidarity approached the court after it had alleged Phiyega had not responded to their request in this regard.
Solidarity spokesperson Piet le Roux said the labour union brought the case to court in the hope of avoiding future court cases.
"The ruling against Solidarity means that future dealings with the Saps on affirmative action will still have to be handled through the court," he said in a statement.
"Solidarity believes in pro-active consultation and not only in reactive litigation. The court has now closed an important door for dialogue."
Le Roux said for the record, there was no urgency in their application.
"Urgency had explicitly been established as common cause between the Saps and Solidarity," he said.
"Furthermore, throughout the proceedings it was never in question that the National Commissioner did indeed fail to respond to Solidarity’s request to be involved in the consultation process of the Saps’s employment equity plan."
