Dr Mashazi’s 12-month suspended sentence upheld

EKURHULENI Metro city manager Dr. Imogen Mashazi is in trouble for ignoring an arbitration award against the municipality after repeated attempts to enforce the ruling by the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) and its members.

- LOYISO SIDIMBA [e-mail]

Mashazi was found guilty of contempt of court in August 2023 and sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, which was wholly suspended for two years on the condition that she and the municipality comply with an arbitration award within 15 days, according to Labour Court Acting Judge Sandile Mabaso.

In 2021, Acting Judge Mabaso found Mashazi not guilty of contempt of court but ordered her to comply with the order.

Samwu persisted with the case against the municipality, and in the scathing ruling handed down in 2023, Mashazi was found guilty of contempt of court.

"The second respondent (Dr Imogen Mashazi) is sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for two years, on condition that the respondents (the municipality and Mashazi) comply with paragraph two of the order granted on February 9, 2021, under case number J646/20 within 14 days of this order," the Labour Court ruled.

Instead of complying with the ruling to place several Samwu members into various grades and notches on the new salary scale with effect from April 2017, the municipality launched a review application against the arbitration award but failed to prosecute it on time.