"You can't play a symphony alone, it takes an orchestra to play it." This quote by Navjot Singh Sidhu perfectly encapsulates the essence of a recent arbitration award that has significant implications for employer representation in South Africa’s civil engineering sector. Just as every musician, regardless of the size of their instrument, deserves to be [...]
In South Africa, labour relations are intricately shaped by the presence and influence of bargaining councils. These councils are pivotal in specific industries, ensuring fair and standardised conditions of employment. For employers operating within such industries, particularly where bargaining council agreements have been extended to non-parties, registration with the relevant council is not just a [...]
Section 213 of the Labour Relations Act defines a collective agreement as: “A written agreement concerning terms and conditions of employment or any other matter of mutual interest concluded by one or more registered trade unions, on the one hand, and, on the other, had a) one or more employers; b) one or more registered [...]
It is common knowledge that trade unions are recognised within the 1996 Constitution of South Africa, which provides for the right to join trade unions and for unions to bargain collectively and have the right to embark on strikes (industrial action). These Constitutionals rights are further entrenched and expanded upon in the Labour Relations Act. While [...]
Temporary Employment Services (TES) have become increasingly popular in South Africa due to their flexibility and cost-effectiveness. However, due to their unique nature, governing legislation such as the Labour Relations Act as well as various court judgments, also present unique challenges regarding workers' rights and employment conditions. Since TES’s pose a unique scenario, trade [...]
In previous articles on the topic of organisational rights, we have mentioned that when it comes to the establishment of organisational rights at a plant level, the approach that is normally used is to observe section 21 of the Labour Relations Act. However, when it comes to collective bargaining on an industry level, it [...]
Employers and organisational rights generally present themselves like oil and water, a relationship born out of opposing views, with each party trying to obtain the best scenario to suit their relevant constituents, while never really homogenising. While these organisational rights and consequent relationships between the parties may come about born out of the inherent [...]
A Trade Union’s Constitution is like a rule book from which the Trade Union is governed. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a “Constitution” as “A body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or organisation is governed.” It is also a well-established principle in South African Labour law that a [...]
Section 213 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) defines a strike and its purpose as a resolution to a grievance or dispute about a matter of mutual interest. There are two types of disputes: A rights dispute and an interest dispute. A rights dispute arises when a person’s entitlement to something in terms of [...]
The point of departure when dealing with a matter of representation is first to identify and interpret the condition that is attached to it. Closed-Shop Agreements, as contained in Section 25 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA), refer to a Collective Agreement between a majority Trade Union and an Employer, which dictates that Employees [...]