A dramatic turn of events has unfolded in the case of Tsholo Mabule, a Standard Bank employee who was dismissed for allegedly mistreating a 73-year-old widow, Senna. Mabule is now fighting to keep her job after the Labour Court in Johannesburg set aside a CCMA arbitration award that initially ruled in her favour.
The controversy began in September 2017 when Senna visited the Zeerust branch, seeking to open a late estate account following her husband’s passing. Mabule, a customer consultant with over two decades of service, refused to assist Senna without an appointment, despite the elderly woman having traveled 50 kilometers to the branch.
Senna’s subsequent complaint led to Mabule’s suspension and eventual dismissal in March 2018. However, Mabule contested the decision at the CCMA, where Commissioner Joseph Rankgale Modise ruled that her dismissal was substantively unfair and awarded her R120,000 in compensation.
Standard Bank challenged Modise’s ruling at the Labour Court, arguing that the commissioner’s decision was flawed due to Senna’s absence from the hearing. The court agreed, stating that Modise’s ruling was compromised by the lack of testimony from the main witness.
In a surprising reversal, the Labour Court set aside Modise’s award and referred the matter back to the CCMA for a new hearing before a different commissioner. Mabule’s bid for reinstatement with full back pay from April 2018 remains uncertain.
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