In a ground-breaking judgment handed down on 8 April 2026, the Labour Appeal Court (LAC) found that calling someone a “white racist” does not, in itself, constitute racism. The Court ordered Namaqua Wines to reinstate Mr Vuyani Qomoyi, finding that his dismissal in 2021 for allegedly “displaying racist behaviour” was substantively unfair. This marks a significant victory for both Mr Qomoyi and the broader labour movement. The judgment is an important affirmation of the right to free speech and clarifies the standards for determining racism in the workplace. Both issues are critical, particularly in the farmwork context.
Previously, the Labour Court upheld Mr Qomoyi’s dismissal and ordered punitive costs against the farm workers’ union, the Commercial, Stevedoring, Agricultural and Allied Workers Union (CSAAWU). Yesterday the LAC overturned the Labour Court’s decision in its entirety.
The case arose after Mr Qomoyi, a general worker and CSAAWU shop steward at Namaqua Wines, was dismissed for calling his supervisor, Mr Sybrandt Meyer, a “white racist”. Mr Meyer had summoned Mr Qomoyi to witness a colleague's dismissal. No explanation was given as to why he was required to witness the dismissal, nor was this common practice. When he questioned the process and was refused answers, he protested, expressing concern about fairness and representation. In March 2022, CSAAWU challenged the dismissal before the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) on the grounds that it was neither procedurally nor substantively fair, but was unsuccessful. With SERI’s legal representation, CSAAWU launched an application for review in the Labour Court in May 2022, and the Labour Court heard the application in February 2024.
The LAC found that both the CCMA and the Labour Court were incorrect that Mr Qomoyi’s utterance constituted racist behaviour because they failed to approach the dispute “in an impartial manner taking into account the totality of the circumstances.” As the LAC puts it, Mr Qomoyi’s utterances were not intended to be racist but were “his response to what offended his own sense of justice and fairness”. The CCMA finding was based on the subjective feelings of Mr Meyer and not on “whether a reasonable, objective and informed person would on the correct facts perceive it to be so”.
Writing for the majority, Acting Judge of the LAC Moshoana reasoned that:
“Given the history of this Country, it can never be perceived by any reasonable person that Mr Qomoyi is capable of being a person who believes that a black race is inherently superior and that a white race is inferior to his race and that he unfairly discriminated or held prejudice against Mr Meyer because of him being a white person. When Mr Qomoyi used the words in question, it was his own interpretation of what he had just witnessed after being called by the self-same Mr Meyer to witness such. It can hardly be said that in uttering those words he was insulting or humiliating Mr Meyer based on the colour of his skin.”
CSAAWU welcomed the ruling as a victory for the entire working class, particularly farm workers and dwellers. Reacting to the judgment, Karel Swart, former National Organising Secretary said, “We trust that this victory will revitalise the entire movement in the agricultural sector”.
SERI’s Thulani Nkosi, acting for Mr Qomoyi, said that while the result was a long time coming for his client, justice prevailed, and he hoped the matter was finally at an end.
Contact details:
- Edward Molopi, SERI senior communications and advocacy officer: edward[at]seri-sa.org / 082 590 9638.
- Deneco Dube, CSAAWU General Secretary: 071 746 7551.