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On 19 March 2026, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI) appeared before the Labour Appeal Court on behalf of the farmworkers union, the Commercial, Stevedoring, Agricultural and Allied Workers Union (CSAAWU) and its member, Mr Vuyani Qomoyi. In this matter, CSAAWU is appealing a decision of the Labour Court that upheld the dismissal of Mr Qomoyi who worked as a general worker at Namaqua Wines and served as a CSAAWU shop steward. This case raises important questions about free speech and perceptions of racism in the workplace, particularly in the farmwork context.

Mr Qomoyi was dismissed in 2021 for calling his supervisor, Mr Sybrandt Meyer, a “white racist”, when he protested the dismissal of a fellow employee. The fundamental question before the Labour Appeal Court is whether the reference to Mr Meyer as a “white racist” is racist conduct, and whether the Labour Court’s finding that it amounts to racist conduct unjustifiably limits an employee’s right to freedom of expression.

By way of background, in August 2021, Mr Qomoyi was called by Mr Meyer to witness the dismissal of a fellow employee – a reason that was withheld beforehand. No explanation was given as to why he was required to witness the dismissal, nor was this common practice. Mr Qomoyi protested the dismissal and enquired about the procedure followed. When Mr Meyer refused to answer any of his questions, Mr Qomoyi called him a “white racist” who fires black people without a representative present.

Offended by this remark, Mr Meyer charged Mr Qomoyi with “displaying racist behaviour” and in October 2021, Mr Qomoyi was found guilty in a disciplinary hearing and was dismissed. 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. SERI submitted that the CCMA and the Commissioner who presided over the arbitration award misdirected itself in holding that Mr Qomoyi’s accusation that Mr Meyer is a “white racist” was, in and of itself dismissible where there had been no investigation into the truthfulness or otherwise and that the accusation was itself racist.

The Labour Court dismissed the review application with costs and upheld the dismissal. The Court found that calling another employee racist without just cause, truth and reasonable grounds constitutes serious misconduct and reveals that the person who makes the accusation is himself racist or displaying a racist attitude. CSAAWU and Mr Qomoyi have since petitioned the Labour Appeal Court for leave to appeal against the decision of the Labour Court. CSAAWU is arguing that the Labour Court (and the CCMA, before it) ignored the racialised context in which Mr Qomoyi’s utterances were made, and that the Labour Court’s sanction of costs against the farmworkers’ union for litigating the matter was unfair.

CSAAWU’s submission is that on its own, the remark cannot be racist and that falls within the constitutionally protected freedom of expression and opinion. As such, the Labour Court unjustifiably limited Mr Qomoyi’s right to freedom of expression and opinion, particularly because the truthfulness or falsity of the remark was never investigated by Namaqua Wines. CSAAWU further argues that costs should not have been awarded against it as it will have a chilling effect on litigants approaching the court with disputes. Judgment has been reserved.

Download the statement here.

Contact details: 

• Edward Molopi, SERI senior communications and advocacy officer: edward[at]seri-sa.org / 082 590 9638.
• Deneco Dube, CSAAWU Deputy General Secretary: 071 746 7551.

On 19 March 2026, the Labour Appeal Court heard the arguments in the matter Commercial Stevedoring Agricultural & Allied Workers Union obo Vuyani Qomoyi v The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and Others. The farmworkers' union CSAAWU is appealing a decision of the Labour Court that upheld the dismissal of Mr Qomoyi, who worked as a general worker at Namaqua Wines and served as a CSAAWU shop steward. Mr Qomoyi was dismissed in 2021 for calling his supervisor, Mr. Sybrandt Meyer, a “white racist”, when he protested the dismissal of a fellow employee. The primary question before the Court is whether calling the supervisor a “white racist” amounts to racist conduct in and of itself.

In this matter, SERI represents CSAAWU and its member, Mr. Vuyani Qomoyi, who was dismissed from Namaqua Wines where he was employed as a general worker and served as a shop steward. The dismissal followed an incident in which Mr. Qomoyi was called by his supervisor and a bottling manager Mr. Sybrandt Meyer, to the Human Resources office to witness the dismissal of a fellow employee—a reason that was withheld despite Mr. Qomoyi's inquiries. Upon witnessing the dismissal, Mr. Qomoyi protested the dismissal and accused Mr. Meyer of being a 'white racist'. Mr. Qomoyi was then charged with “displaying racist behaviour” and in October 2021, following a disciplinary hearing.

CSAAWU and Mr. Qomoyi approached the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to challenge the dismissal for procedural and substantive unfairness on the basis that CSAAWU was prevented from leading evidence regarding the context of racism at Namaqua Wines. At the time of the disciplinary hearing, the chairperson of the disciplinary hearing had ruled that CSAAWU’s submissions on racism at Namaqua were irrelevant. The CCMA, found against CSAAWU and upheld the dismissal as being procedurally and substantively fair.

With SERI’s legal representation, CSAAWU and Mr. Qomoyi then launched a review application in the Labour Court in May 2022, which heard the matter in February 2024. SERI submitted that the CCMA and the Commissioner who handled the arbitration erred in that they relied on the premise that Mr. Qomoyi’s utterances to Mr. Meyer constituted inherently wrong and constituted misconduct for which Mr. Qomoyi could and was dismissed. The Labour Court dismissed the review application with costs and upheld Mr. Qomoyi's dismissal. The Court found that the CCMA’s arbitration was not reviewable, that Mr. Qomoyi’s conduct was deserving of dismissal and justified, and that the outcome of the arbitration was reasonable. The Court found that the CCMA correctly found that there was a rule in place at the farm that racism was not tolerated and was a serious offence worthy of a dismissal even for a first offender, and that Mr. Qomoyi breached this rule, leading to disharmony in the workplace and a breakdown of the relationship between himself and other employees, particularly Mr. Meyer.

The Labour Court also held that calling another employee racist without just cause, truth, and reason, constitutes serious misconduct and reveals that the person who makes the accusation is himself racist or displays a racist attitude. The court also accepted that the enquiry must be based on how a reasonable observer must have perceived the utterances and that racist intent can be inferred from the actual words Mr. Qomoyi used as well as the absence of a justification for the utterances, the circumstances and manner in which they were made. It concluded that Mr. Qomoyi’s utterances to Mr. Meyer were racist and that there was no cause or reason to act as he did.

The fundamental question before the Labour Appeal Court is whether the reference to Mr. Meyer as a “white racist” constitutes racist conduct, and whether the Labour Court’s finding that it does unjustifiably limits an employee’s right to freedom of expression. In CSAAWU's appeal, it submits that on its own, Mr. Qomoyi's remarks cannot be racist and that they fall within the constitutionally protected right to freedom of expression and opinion. As such, the Labour Court unjustifiably limited Mr Qomoyi’s right to freedom of expression and opinion, particularly because the truthfulness or falsity of the remark was never investigated by Namaqua Wines. CSAAWU further argues that costs should not have been awarded against the union, as it will have a chilling effect on litigants approaching the court with disputes.

Judgment in the matter has been reserved.

• Read more about the case here.

On 26 February 2026, SERI researcher Thato Masiangoako, alongside Irene W. Kinoti (Pamoja Trust Action & Research Programme Officer), co-facilitated an online workshop on research methods hosted by the International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net). The Network's Community-Led Research Hub organised the workshop for the benefit of the latest cohort of research teams undertaking Feminist Participatory Action Research (FPAR) on regenerative economies centering care with links to climate and debt justice. The research teams come from Papua New Guinea, Palestine, Tanzania, Argentina, and Egypt.

The workshop focused on the principles and methods of feminist participatory action research and included an exercise on planning for data collection. The workshop opened with a grounding ritual by Rosa Mamani from Red Chimpu in Bolivia. Thato then discussed the fundamental principles of FPAR research, drawing from the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development resources on FPAR research. A session followed the FPAR principles session on the different research methods that the research teams could draw on, based on their research plans: these included interviews, delivered by Irene; Focus Group Discussions and , delivered by Thato; Community Mapping, delivered by Oscar Pineda (Strategic Research Coordinator at PODER); Audiovisual documentation, delivered by Angélica Cuevas (ESCR-net Secretariat).

The Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa is a member of ESCR-net and the Community-Led Research Hub Advisory Group.

Read more about the community-led research supported by ESCR-net's Community-Led Research Hub here.

On 27 February 2026, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI), together with the African Reclaimers Organisation (ARO), South African Informal Traders Forum (SAITF), Izwi Domestic Workers Alliance (Izwi), Commercial Stevedoring Agricultural and Allied Workers Union (CSAAWU), the Inner City Federation (ICF) and the Slovo Park Community Development Forum (SPCDF) submitted a joint written input to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) for their National Inquiry into the Food Systems of South Africa. The submission draws on SERI’s food (in)security research report that documents how some of SERI’s partners have been affected by, and responded to, food insecurity and hunger.

The submission argues that food insecurity is not only about production or supply but about deep structural inequalities that block people’s economic access to sufficient, nutritious and culturally appropriate food. Drawing on research and lived experience from those in precarious work (such as farm workers and domestic workers), informal traders, reclaimers and low-income urban and informal settlement residents, it shows how wage inequality, corporate concentration in the food system, failed land and agrarian reform, precarious informal and care work, fragmented governance, and weak social protection drive hunger and malnutrition.

Although South Africa produces enough food nationally, millions cannot access it because of poverty, unemployment and rising living costs. Participating organisations describe persistent barriers such as stagnant wages, insecure livelihoods, high food prices and little policy support for the informal food economies many households depend on.

The submission also raises concerns about the fragmented institutional framework governing food and nutrition security in South Africa. Responsibility for food systems is spread across multiple government departments and spheres of government, often without sufficient coordination, accountability or oversight. This fragmentation weakens the state’s ability to respond effectively to food insecurity and undermines the progressive realisation of the right to food.

In response, the submission proposes several structural reforms to strengthen accountability and align South Africa’s food system with its constitutional and international human rights obligations. These include ratifying the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, developing framework legislation on the right to food, and expediting public consultation and finalisation of the 2024–2029 National Food and Nutrition Security Plan.

The submission also calls for stronger enforcement of labour protections, including the national minimum wage, as part of a broader commitment to fair wages and dignified work. It recommends targeted support for informal traders and small-scale food producers, increased investment in urban and community-based food production, and policies that recognise the important role of informal food economies in improving food access in low-income communities.

SERI and partners have been invited to make oral representations at the SAHRC inquiry that will take place between 12 and 20 March 2026. 

• Access the full submission here.