Is singing 'hit the boer' a dismissible offence?

Should the singing of a struggle song that “rejoices” at the prospect of hitting white people justify a dismissal from your job?

This is the question which faced the Constitutional Court justices on Thursday as they heard an appeal by Alberton company Duncanmec, that manufactures refuse-handling equipment.

On April 30 2013, employees were unhappy about some conditions regarding overtime and embarked on an unprotected strike at the employers’ premises. The strike lasted for a few hours after lunch and the workers returned to work on the next working day. But the eight workers were dismissed.

The workers were not dismissed because of the unprotected strike‚ but rather for singing a struggle song in isiZulu that‚ when translated‚ means: “Climb on top of the roof and tell them that my mother is rejoicing when we hit the boer.”

The workers successfully challenged their dismissal at the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council in 2014. The arbitrator ordered their reinstatement, but only allowed them back-pay of three months instead of the 12 months’ pay that was due to them.

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