Makgosi Letimile's fight for disability rights in the workplace

The rights of disabled persons in the workplace will come into focus at the Labour Court next week where Makgosi Letimile, a 40-year-old, disabled woman who is wheelchair-bound, will face her former employer.

Set against the backdrop of National Disability Rights Awareness Month, Letimile’s attorney, Tzvi Brivik, said the case is important for disability awareness and seeks to clarify as well as enhance the rights of disabled persons in the workplace – both during employment and upon termination thereof.

Letimile’s court battle has spanned three years against her previous employer, the Cape Town International Convention Centre Company (CTICC). She was hired as part of a targeted recruitment of disabled persons initiated by the CTICC in 2019, and submitted that she was promised that her disability would be accommodated and that she would be provided training to support her difficult re-entry into the job-market after only recently having become permanently disabled.

Letimile, however, alleged she experienced challenges with lack of accessibility and discrimination in the workplace and that the CTICC’s promise of a disability-friendly workplace did not materialise.

She alleged she was not provided promised or necessary training either timeously or at all, nor the appropriate equipment to enable her to fulfil her job requirements.

Letimile also alleged the CTICC did not address barriers to access, including, but not limited, to the workplace, participation in CTICC community service initiatives, and skills development opportunities, and did not provide flexible working arrangements to accommodate the impact of load shedding and transport-related difficulties on a disabled wheelchair user.

According to court papers, one of the challenges Letimile experienced was the label-cutter she had to use but was not appropriate for wheelchair users.

“When Letimile took up her appointment, no proactive steps were taken to enquire into the equipment she required, or into any obstacles she would face in performing her regular functions with the existing equipment, either upfront or from time to time,” court papers read.

“On April 14 2021, Letimile received an email from the HR manager stating that the reason for the meeting had been to inform her that another employee whose position was made redundant had longer service than her, that he had the skills to fill Letimile's position, and had requested to be bumped into her position. The principle of LIFO (last in first out) would be adhered to and HR would investigate if he had the necessary skill to be bumped into her position,” court papers read.

Letimile was retrenched and her last day in office was on April 29, 2021.

Letimile’s attorney, Brivik, said that the case is important for disability awareness.

“It seeks to clarify as well as enhance the rights of disabled persons in the workplace – both during employment and upon termination thereof. It should not be that considerations of employment equity feature strongly during hiring processes but fall by the wayside during the course of a disabled person’s employment, or when retrenchment processes are initiated. They should remain relevant throughout. It is hoped that the matter will now proceed to trial without further unnecessary delays,” said Brivik.

According to the CTICC, Letimile had “extensive and continuous demands of the (employer) which went beyond what was reasonable”.

The CTICC also said they had “purchased a more user-friendly label cutter” as well as a printer which was set up at her work station.

“The applicant was advised that she needed to carry out her tasks with more diligence at the meeting with the HR manager, and the general manager. The purpose of that meeting was to discuss the issues surrounding the labelling and address any other concerns that (Letimile) may have had.

At that meeting it was also recorded that Letimile spent a considerable amount of her working browsing the internet which was affecting the completion of her daily tasks. Letimile advised that she would refrain from using the internet and would ensure that she improves her work output,” court papers read. A spokesperson for CTICC said: “The matter is currently pending before the Labour Court, and the CTICC respects the judicial process”.

Cape Times