Mine worker wins battle of the high heels, says judge

A HUMAN resources co-ordinator’s love of high heel shoes as part of the elegant look she prefers came under the legal spotlight after she was fired from the mine where she worked.

The reason given for the dismissal was that the safety policy demands the wearing of flat shoes around the mine’s premises.

Tharisa Mofokeng’s love for her heels caused her a lot of unhappiness when she was told that she may no longer wear them around Tharisa Minerals, where she worked.

While she did comply with the policy and wore her flats, she approached other female employees and a trade union leader, voicing her unhappiness.

Her attempts to lobby for support were viewed as gross insubordination, resulting in a disciplinary inquiry.

She was found guilty and dismissed.

She approached the CCMA, but the commissioner found her dismissal fair.

But the Labour Court in Johannesburg found her dismissal to be substantively unfair. The mine was instructed to reinstate her, backdating from October 2017, when she was fired.

Judge Graham Moshoana found that there was no evidence of persistence and wilfulness on the part of Mofokeng not to comply with the policy, nor that she incited any of her colleagues to engage in strike action.

He said Mofokeng had the right to remonstrate against any authority as long as she did it within the law.