Labour Court rejects De Beers shift workers’ claim for shorter week

In 1991, the Labour Court recommended against a union claim for a one-hour reduction in shift workers’ hours at De Beers Industrial Diamond Division. It found the workers already worked less than 40 hours a week and did not qualify for a further reduction under the agreement. The recommendation was signed on 31 May 1991. The Services Industrial Professional Technical Union argued that the reduced-week agreement applied to shift workers who normally would have worked 40 hours. The company said the shift workers’ week was 36.25 hours and it did not propose to reduce it further.