UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS

OCT/NOV 2024

MRL3702

LABOUR LAW

100 Marks

Duration: 4 Hours

This paper consists of 9 pages

INSTRUCTIONS FOR A PORTFOLIO OR TAKE-HOME EXAM ON MYEXAMS

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE ANSWERING THE

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. The examination question paper counts 100 marks.

2. It consists of 4 questions. Answer ALL of the questions.
3. The duration of the examination on the timetable is 4 hours.
4. In addition to the duration of the examination indicated on the timetable, you are given
30 minutes to FINALISE the uploading of your exam file. Your exam file must be
uploaded via the myExams platform on 17 OCTOBER 2024 before 12H:30 (South
African Standard Time).
5. This is an open-book examination. You may consult your prescribed material.
However, while the examination is in progress, you are not allowed to consult another
person or any source in order to assist you to answer any of the questions contained
in this question paper. While the examination is in progress, you may not assist
another student in answering any of the questions contained in this question paper.
6. This examination is proctored via the Invigilator App. You are required to activate
the Invigilator app between 07H45 and 08H30. The QR code is provided below on
page 9.

7. Your exam file must be uploaded on the myExams platform.

7.1 When ready to submit, open the Take-Home assessment again and click on the Add
Submission button. Note: You only get 10 minutes after the due time to submit
your script on the Invigilator App and 30 minutes on the myExams portal.

Open Rubric
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7.2. Note the file requirements such as:

a. File size limit.
b. Number of files that can be submitted.
c. File formats allowed.

7.3. Check the acknowledgment checkbox and upload your answers document and then
click on the Save changes button.

7.4. Review your submission information regarding the status and click on your submission
file link to check if it's correct.
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7.5. If you need to resubmit a file, you can click on the Edit Submission button. Do not click
on the Remove submission button. Note: You will need to delete any existing files.

7.6 Use proper PDF conversion software to create the final file for upload. Free PDF
conversion software is available on the Internet.
7.7 Add your student number and the module code in the file name. That will assist you to
select the correct document to upload during submission.
7.8 You are advised to preview your submission (answer script) to ensure legibility and that
the correct answer script file has been uploaded.
8. The cover page for your take-home exam must include your name, student number and
the module code.
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9. It is preferred that your take-home exam is typed. However, handwritten submissions will
also be accepted. If the take-home exam is typed, the maximum length is 12 pages (which
includes the cover page and the bibliography). If the take-home exam is handwritten, the
maximum length is 14 pages (which includes the cover page and the bibliography).
10. Whether your answers are typed or handwritten, your submission on the myExams
platform on Moodle must be made in the form of one PDF document. Only the last file
uploaded and submitted will be marked.
10.1 The exam answer file that you submit must not be password protected or uploaded as a
“read only” file.
10.2 Your examination answer file will not be marked if:
10.2.1 you send your examination answer file via email.
10.2.2 you submit the incorrect examination answer file. A mark of 0% will be awarded.
10.2.3 you submit your exam answer file on an unofficial examination.
10.2.4 you submit your examination answer file in the incorrect file format.
10.2.5 you submit a password-protected document.
10.2.6 you submit your examination answer file late.
10.2.7 you submit your answer file from a registered student account that is not your own.
10.3 The mark awarded for an illegible examination answer file submission will be your final
mark. You will not be allowed to resubmit after the scheduled closing date and time of the
exam.
11. If your answers are typed, ensure that the following requirements are adhered to. Items
11.3-11.6 applies to written assignments as well.
11.1 The text must be typed in Arial font, size 12 with single line spacing within the paragraph,
and double line spacing after the paragraph.
11.2 The text must be justified.
11.3 All of the pages must be numbered in the right-hand corner at the bottom of the page.
11.4 All margins must be 2.5cm, but the left margin must be 3cm.
11.5 South African English and not American English should be used. For example, the correct
spelling is “Labour” and not “Labor”.
11.6 Do not use abbreviations or SMS language.
11.7 All quotes that are two lines long (or less), must form part of the main text, be written in
italics, and be bracketed by quotation marks. Where a quotation is longer than two lines,
it must be typed in a separate paragraph in italics in size 11 font and must be indented by
1 cm. No quotation marks are required when the quotations stand alone. Use quotations
very sparingly. In this take-home exam, a maximum of 5% of the text may be quoted.
12. When answering the take-home exam questions, remember that an open-book exam is
a test at a higher level than the usual type of exam, where memory is tested as much as
insight. In an open-book exam, you need not memorise any information. You are expected
to prove that you can use information, rather than merely repeat it. In brief, what is being
tested is factual knowledge, understanding and the correct application thereof, not
memory skills. For this reason, you do not earn marks by merely detailing a list of all the
information that you think might be relevant to a particular question. This gives no
indication that you know what statutory or other provisions are applicable in a specific
context. You are expected to identify precisely what information applies, and then explain
why you think so.
12.1 PLEASE DO NOT CUT AND PASTE ANSWERS FROM THE STUDY MATERIAL (OR
ANY OTHER SOURCE).
13. The arguments that you make must be logical, well-structured and substantiated by all of
the relevant legal principles. Use the time given wisely.
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13.1 Ensure that you give reasons for each answer. Substantiate your answers by referring
to ALL of the relevant authorities, e.g. sections from relevant legislation and/or court
cases in the text or in your footnotes.
13.2 You are required to have read and summarised the prescribed cases yourself.
When using case law to support your answer, please include complete references to
the relevant cases in your footnotes. This means that you must not only include the
name of the case but also the exact page and section and/or paragraph where the
information can be found. The same applies to articles and books used.
13.3 A number of students lose marks because they do not approach problem-type
questions correctly. When answering such questions, it is important to first clarify
for yourself the area of work where the answer must be sought. Once you have
done this, set out the relevant legal principles. Deal only with those principles that
relate to the given facts. Next, apply these principles to the facts. This is where most
of the students lose marks - they set out the law in some detail, but then do not
illustrate how it applies to the factual situation they have been asked to solve.
Finally, state your conclusion.
14. You must complete the online declaration of own work when submitting.
14.1 By ticking the Honesty Declaration, you confirm that you have read (i)
the University’s Policy on Copyright Infringement and Plagiarism and the Student
Disciplinary Code, which are both available on myUnisa:
www.unisa.ac.za/unisarules, and (ii) the information relating to student values and
plagiarism that is found at https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/myunisa/default/Study-@-
Unisa/Student-values-and-rules.
14.2 Students suspected of dishonest conduct during the examinations will be subjected
to disciplinary processes. Students may not communicate with other students, or
request assistance from other students during examinations. The use of Telegram,
WhatsApp or any other instant messaging services with any other person (except when
asking for technical assistance via official channels of the SCSC or the Invigilator WhatsApp
line) are strictly prohibited. Plagiarism is a violation of academic integrity and students who
plagiarise, copy from published works or use Artificial Intelligence Software (eg ChatGPT)
or online sources (eg course material) will be in violation of the Policy on Academic Integrity
and the Student Disciplinary Code and may be referred to a disciplinary hearing. Unisa has
a zero tolerance for plagiarism and/or any other forms of academic dishonesty.

PLEASE NOTE:

If you experience challenges with the Invigilator app, please send a WhatsApp message to
the technical helpdesk on
073 505 8273. Do not contact the lecturers.
For all other exam-related challenges, you may contact the SCSC on 080 000 1870 or e-
mail
Examenquiries@unisa.ac.za or refer to Get-Help for the list of additional contact numbers.

FURTHER NOTE THE FOLLOWING USE OF ABBREVIATIONS IN THE PAPER:

1. The Labour Relations Act, 1995 is referred to as the 'LRA'.

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QUESTION 1
Mokone Engineers (Pty) Ltd (ME) is a leading airbus building establishment in the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) area. It is based in Limpopo Province, South
Africa, and employs ten thousand (10 000) people, most of whom are graduates from South
African universities. ME specialises in designing, building and marketing airbuses. Remofile,
who is an engineering graduate and senior design specialist at ME, wishes to resign and join
Bakwena Capitals (BC), another airbus manufacturer and the second largest in the industry,
based in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. However, one of Remofile’s childhood friends, Tsitsa,
who is a lawyer, advises him to check whether his contract of employment contains a clause
which prohibits employees from starting a competing business, recruiting from ME, or joining
its competitors in South Africa for three years after resigning from ME. Upon discovering such
a clause in his contract, the unhappy Remofile regards it as unlawful.
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS WITH REFERENCE TO THE APPLICABLE
AUTHORITIES.
(i) Indicate the legal term for the clause referred to above, its purpose and whether
Remofile will be able to successfully challenge it in terms of the South African law.
(15)
(ii) Would your answer be different if the clause bars Remofile from working for any
ME competitors in South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and
Namibia. (5)

(iii) In a paragraph, write an opinion about the constitutional implication of this clause.
(5)
[25]
QUESTION 2
Martinus is forty (40) years old. He obtained his university qualification at the age of twenty-
three (23) from Tsankatsanka University. However, he was unemployed until January 2024 due
to South Africa's struggling economy. In January 2024, Martinus received a call from ESKOM
SA offering him a permanent position, which he accepted. Although the position pays well,
Martinus is concerned about a few monthly deductions made by his employer, and he does not
like that. 'I want my full pay untouched,' he said. He is also so worried that he lost the
opportunity to build a pension profile like his peers when he was unemployed. Martinus’s
friend tells him that ‘employers may not make any deduction from an employee’s
remuneration because that will amount to an unfair labour practice’. ESKOM SA has a
counter view and argues, ‘No Martinus, employment and labour laws allow deductions’, and a
dispute ensues between the two.
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS WITH REFERENCE TO THE APPLICABLE
AUTHORITIES.
(i) Advise both Martinus and ESKOM SA on whether the South African law allows
deductions from an employee’s remuneration and, if so, under which circumstances.
Provide an example in each instance. (13)
(ii) Define the concept ‘unfair labour practices. (10)
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(iii) ESKOM SA accuses Martinus of unfair labour practice because of his argument
against the deductions. Explain whether this claim will stand legally, and why? (2)
[25]
QUESTION 3
Collective bargaining is a process through which the employer and employees (through trade
unions) can engage in negotiations to regulate their employment relationship.
(a) Which conducts by the employer amount to a refusal to bargain in terms of the Labour
Relations Act 66 of 1995 (LRA). (10)
(b) Discuss the circumstances under which certain information cannot be disclosed by the
employer for purposes of bargaining. (8)
(c) Moriri is employed as a supervisor at Black Label (Pty) Ltd. She also wants to join a
trade union, but the employer is against the idea because, the employer argues ‘You
occupy a big position that carries a huge responsibility. You cannot have both –
otherwise, you should resign yourself from the supervisor’s position’.
With reference to the relevant authority, discuss whether Moriri can keep her position
and still join a trade union. (7)
[25]
QUESTION 4
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS WITH REFERENCE TO THE APPLICABLE
AUTHORITIES:
(a) Explain the significance of the ‘kopano ke maatla principle’ insofar as effective
collective bargaining is concerned. (8)
(b) The South African Police Union (SAPU) is a trade union which represents the majority
of employees at the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD). SAPU and
EMPD have been engaging in negotiations for an increase of salaries for the financial
year 2024. They reached a stalemate as SAPU demands a 15% increase whilst the
EMPD offers a 7% increase. SAPU feels that the employer’s offer is an insult and serves
EMPD with a notice to strike.
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ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS WITH REFERENCE TO THE APPLICABLE

AUTHORITIES.
(i) Define the concept ‘strike’. (5)
(ii) Discuss the circumstances in terms of the LRA under which employees are not
allowed to strike. (12)
[25]
TOTAL: [100]

FIRST EXAMINER : ADV KL KUBJANA

SECOND EXAMINER : PROF ME MANAMELA

©
UNISA 2024

ANNEXURE A

PLAGIARISM DECLARATION

Student name:

Student number:

Course code:

I know that plagiarism is to use another’s work and pass it off as one’s own work.
I know that plagiarism is wrong.
I confirm that this portfolio is my own work.
I have acknowledged all sources that I have used.
I have not directly copied anything from the internet or from any other source.
I have indicated every quotation and citation in a footnote or bracket linked to
that quotation.
I have not allowed anyone else to copy my work so as to pass it off as their work.
I understand that if any unacknowledged copying whatsoever appears in my
portfolio, I will receive 0% for the portfolio.
I am aware of the UNISA policy on plagiarism and understand that disciplinary
proceedings can be instituted against me by UNISA if I contravene this policy.

Signed by

…………………………………….

Date .............................................
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