Dischem Fired an Employee With Cancer and the CCMA Sided With the Pharmaceutical Franchise

• The Council for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) ruled in favour of DisChem in a battle with one of its former employees
• The woman was dismissed this year after she was diagnosed with bowel cancer and had to be fitted with a stoma bag
• Dischem spoke to Briefly News and said it followed procedure in dismissing the employee
• The Casual Workers' Advice Office (CWAO) condemned the CCMA and called on the woman to be reinstated without delay

Tebogo Mokwena, Briefly News's current affairs journalist, covered current affairs relating to the economy, finance, banks, and state-owned enterprises during his seven years at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

JOHANNESBURG — A South African woman who was diagnosed with bowel cancer lost her job after DisChem fired her for being unable to do heavy-lifting work.

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Dischem fires woman

According to IOL, Refilwe Matinketsa worked for DisChem from March 2019. three years later, she was diagnosed with bowel cancer and had to be fitted with a stoma bag. She returned to work in November 2023 and was expected to continue lifting heavy boxes and bending over despite being unable to do so because of the stoma bag.

She was dismissed in March this year on the grounds of medical incapacity. The Casual Workers Advice Office took DisChem to the Council for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration for unfair dismissal. The CCMA ruled in favour of DisChem in a ruling Briefly News saw. The CWAO blamed the CCMA's part-time commissioner for ruling in DisChem's favour and demanded that Matinketsa be reinstated.

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Briefly News speaks to DisChem

Dischem spoke to Briefly News about the case.

"Dis-Chem followed all protocols and procedures to accommodate Refilwe Matinketsa. As per the CCMA Arbitration Outcome, her dismissal was procedurally and substantively fair."

SA call for action against Dischem

South Africans on Facebook blasted DisChem and the CCMA.

Carla De Bouchet said:

"DisChem's refusal to make her a cashier is unacceptable. I hope this case can be escalated to the Labour Court."

Benji Wilders said:

"It doesn't surprise me. The CCMA is just like any other company. They do not have the interests of workers at heart anymore."

Mpilwenhle Ndlazi said:

"It would be interesting to hear what the labour court has to say about this."

Sipho Sambokwe said:

"The Labour Court is going to say that it's an automatic unfair dismissal."

Woman claims she was fired for building beautiful house with R4900 salary

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In a related article, Briefly News reported that a woman from Limpopo was allegedly fired for having a beautiful house.

She posted an emotional video on TikTok detailing how she came under investigation for building a house with her salary of R4900.

Source: Briefly News