The collective bargaining process requires time, effort and money from unions – in the form of subscriptions, in order to effectively engage and bargain with employers. The employer's contribution towards the collective bargaining process is to facilitate and manage the collection and payments of trade union fees, thus financially affording the union the funds they [...]
In Hospersa and Zuid- Afrikaanse Hospital 7 (unreported CCMA award, 3 February 1997) cited in Du Toit et al (2015) 250 and Van Niekerk et al (2015) 373 the power play between Employer and Employees is described as: “Organisational rights which make it possible for a trade union to build up, consolidate and maintain a [...]
Item 4(1) of the Code of Good Practice: Collective bargaining, industrial action and picketing (hereinafter referred to as the Code), defines collective bargaining as “a voluntary process in which organised labour in the form of trade unions and employers or employer’s organisations negotiate collective agreements with each other to determine wages, terms and conditions of [...]
Employing an illegal immigrant or an employee without a work permit has serious consequences for employers. There is a perception that illegal immigrants or employees without work permits do not enjoy any benefits of protections in terms of the labour relations laws in South African. This is a misguided perception, and employers should not be [...]
In our article last week, we referred to various forms and processes regarding centralised bargaining. This week we will delve headfirst into Recognition Agreements as one of the most common plant-level forms of collective bargaining and the potential processes involved therein. A recognition agreement is the outcome of successful union recognition talks in the [...]
With terms like "business unusual" or "the new normal" being touted more and more frequently, are we expected to accept that existing rules simply don't matter or that they have been temporarily abandoned? Above is referring to the rules to which the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) are bound, essentially those that [...]
Employers may not be aware that their business activities may fall within the scope of a bargaining council’s main agreement, or they may already be registered as an employer under the auspices of a specific bargaining council. Bargaining councils include, inter alia: the Metal Engineering Bargaining Council (MEIBC), the Road Freight and Logistics Bargaining [...]
South Africa has a number of legal and illegal immigrants working in all sectors across the economy. What rights do these workers enjoy, if any? Quite often, these workers could be paid low wages, deprived of employee benefits and dismissed without reason or procedure, as an employer could be under the impression that the [...]
South African labour practice is constitutionally entrenched within Section 23 of the Constitution, which provides that every person is entitled to, amongst other things, the right to fair labour practices. Section 23 is given effect in terms of the Labour Relations Act which provides for effective resolution of labour disputes. The CCMA is created in [...]
The most important change brought about by the amendments of the Labour Relations Amendment Act, No. 8 of 2018 (LRA) is the conferral of rights in terms of section 14 and section 16 to minority unions, which have in the past been given exclusively to majority unions. In addition, the amendments allow, if certain conditions [...]