CARMEL RICKARD: Railway Safety Regulator head’s court bid derailed
A ‘meritless’ legal application by the head of the Railway Safety Regulator highlights the danger of short-circuiting workplace grievance procedure
The suspended CEO of the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR), Nkululeko Poya, has lost his desperate bid to halt an ongoing disciplinary inquiry into allegations of gross dereliction of duty. But his urgent application in the labour court has brought him additional problems, with the court awarding costs against him and castigating him for his "meritless application", adding that he is the "author of his own misfortune". Poya has headed the RSR since 2011, leading an organisation responsible for oversight of railway safety and compliance audits, among others. But he has been in the news mainly for different reasons, with reports alleging that he spied on board members after his initial suspension, and that he spied on a Mail & Guardian journalist to determine who her sources were. This after he discovered she was investigating his possible involvement in a scam in which the RSR’s equipment was used to deliver ANC T-shirts. Of more immediate personal legal significance, Poya faces a slew ...
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