T[he] competition authorities went beyond their mandate when granting protection to the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (Saccawu) in the merger of Walmart and Massmart, according to a new case note in a South African law journal…The court confirmed the decision of the Competition Tribunal to approve….Walmart[‘s] acqui[sition]…of Massmart…The court also confirmed the tribunal’s ruling that the merger be subjected to conditions after concerns around employment and procurement were raised… This…is problematic, according to the case note…“By imposing a condition that extends beyond their public interest mandate the competition authorities have created the potential for a number of negative consequences to arise from the Walmart condition.” These include opposing the basic principles of competition as Saccawu is granted a monopoly position… [which] could also harm the interests of employees, who should be entitled to freely select the union they feel will best protect their interests in the workplace...