This is why the right to strike does not include a right to carry weapons
The notion of peaceful and orderly collective bargaining is undermined in circumstances where striking employees have weapons
Striking employees often, and regrettably, have in their possession sticks and other objects that may be used as weapons while on the picket line. Unions routinely contend that these objects do not constitute “weapons”, and that the strikers have a “right”, rooted primarily in their cultural beliefs, to carry a stick. While we are, of course, products of our culture and environment, the submission ignores the fact that a workplace should be free from violence and intimidation.
There is no shortage of case law on the issue of weapons during a picket. In National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) on behalf of Mhlanga & others vs Geneva Ad, employees were dismissed for engaging in intimidatory behaviour committed during the course of a strike. ..
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