Judgment expected in SABC 4 Labour Court case

Judgment will be handed down by a colleague of Judge Robert Lagrange, who presided over the matter on Friday.

Foeta Krige, Suna Venter, Krivani Pillay, and Jacques Steenkamp want the court to set aside their dismissals and revoke their disciplinary processes.

The SABC fired the four, along with another three staffers, and one freelancer, for objecting to COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s decision that the broadcaster would no longer air footage of the destruction of public property during protests.

Steven Budlender, counsel for the seven SABC employees, said the SABC’s conduct was not only "patently unlawful and unconstitutional, but it is cynical and amounts to bullying”.

The SABC conceded in the High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday that the policy was unlawful and invalid.

Themba Skosana, for the SABC, argued that the matter first had to go to arbitration, before the court could get involved.