Text in Afrikaans / Summaries in English and Afrikaans / Die Grondwet van die Republiek van Suid-Afrika en die Wet op Arbeidsverhoudinge verleen aan werknemers die reg om te staak. Die reg is egter nie onbeperk nie. Op grond van die voldoening aan wetlike vereistes, word stakings as beskermd of onbeskermd geklassifiseer. Beskermde stakers kan ontslaan word weens wangedrag tydens die staking of op grond van die bedryfsvereistes van die werkgewer. Die werkgewer se bedryfsvereistes sal ontslag regverdig indien sy /haar vlak van toleransie bereik is. Dit sal die geval wees indien die werkgewer se besigheid met ondergang gedreig word of onherroeplike skade gaan ly, sou die staking voortduur. Aile relevante faktore moet egter in ag geneem word. Daar is nie tans 'n vasgestelde toets in die verband nie en daar word ook aan die hand gedoen dat billikheid, met inagneming van al die relevante faktore en omstandighede, die belangrikste oorweging moet wees. 'n Vasgestelde toets vir die bepaling van die werkgewer se vlak van toleransie, word afgekeur. / The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and the Labour Relations Act give employees the right to strike. This right is, however, not unlimited. By reason of the satisfaction of statutory requirements, strikes are classified as protected or unprotected. Protected strikers may be dismissed for misconduct during the strike or by reason of the operational requirements of the employer. The employer's operational requirements will justify dismissal when his/her level of tolerance is reached. This will be the case when the employer's business is on the brink of extinction or about to suffer irreparable harm. All the relevant facts must however be taken into account. Currently there is no definite test in this regard and it is proposed that fairness, taking into account all the relevant facts and circumstances, be the overriding consideration. A specific test for the determination of the employer's level of tolerance must be rejected. / Economics and Management Sciences / LL.M.

A substantial number of employees in South Africa may soon be out of work as the result of their HIV-positive status. The dismissal of an infected employee may be motivated by the fact that he is considered to be incompetent or incapable of doing the work for which he was employed. Customers and fellow employees may refuse to deal with an infected employee, with the result that the employee is dismissed for economic reasons. The nature of the undertaking's activities may be such that the presence of an infected employee constitutes a health risk. For the purposes of carrying out his duty to create and maintain safe working conditions, the employer dismisses the employee. The employer may even force the infected employee to resign. Measures should be taken to improve the situation of infected employees. They include educating employers and employees about the transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus. / Mercentile Law / LL. M.

Aline Bingen a fait le pari de tenter de comprendre ce que c’est que de perdre son emploi à la suite de restructurations ou de fermetures, en étudiant des cellules de reconversion, les mesures d’accompagnement des salariés licenciés, et en s’intéressant aux trajectoires sociales et professionnelles d’une vingtaine d’entre eux. <p>La question qui la préoccupe est notamment celle du devenir des collectifs. Question très pertinente quand on sait à quel point les collectifs de salariés jouent un rôle décisif non seulement pour l’élaboration de savoirs pratiques constitutifs du travail réel (par opposition au travail prescrit), mais aussi pour donner du sens au travail, lui redonner de la dignité et apprivoiser les pénibilités liées aux conditions dans lesquelles il se déroule. Les collectifs gèrent à leur façon le mal-être au travail et l’interprètent à travers le prisme d’une morale et de valeurs en lien avec les enjeux économiques et politiques de la société.<p>La perte d’emploi, la nécessité de se former pour retrouver du travail précipite les salariés dans une situation particulièrement périlleuse pour eux, précisément parce qu’ils sont confrontés de façon personnalisée, hors de tout collectif, à l’épreuve du reclassement.<p>Comment cela se joue-t-il concrètement ?C’est ce que Aline Bingen cherche à analyser dans sa thèse à partir d’observations et d’entretiens approfondis. Du moins dans la deuxième partie de sa thèse, car elle consacre la première à un retour sur les politiques publiques au niveau fédéral, pour identifier les empreintes de « l’Etat social actif » depuis les années 60 en matière d’accompagnement des licenciements collectifs, et plus particulièrement en région wallonne depuis les années 70.<p>Dans cette première partie, on peut féliciter l’auteure pour l’ampleur de ses recherches et sa volonté d’exhaustivité. Il y a là un travail dont on peut penser qu’il sera fort utile pour tous ceux qui sont intéressés par cette question du rôle de pouvoirs publics dans la gestion des reconversions des fermetures et des licenciements collectifs. On découvre la tendance inexorable vers plus d’individualisation et de mise sous condition de l’accès aux droits sociaux.<p>La deuxième partie quant à elle révèle les qualités d’Aline Bingen en tant que chercheure de terrain, son respect des personnes interviewées, la qualité de son écoute, la finesse de ses interprétations, la confiance qu’elle obtient des ces personnes pourtant en situation difficile. Les larges extraits qu’elle offre au lecteur, et qui témoignent de sa volonté de ne pas imposer d’analyses trop abruptes et rapides, sont absolument passionnants. Ils permettent d’avancer dans la compréhension des enjeux, des difficultés, des épreuves qui scandent le parcours de ces travailleurs licenciés et aux prises avec les dispositifs institutionnels de reclassement mais aussi des ressources de différentes natures dont ils disposent et parmi lesquelles figurent notamment les délégués syndicaux. Mais ils permettent aussi en contrepoint de comprendre ce qui faisait que ces travailleurs tenaient à leur travail et tenaient au travail. De comprendre l’importance des règles du jeu qui les liaient à leur entreprise, à leur employeur et qui volent en éclat au moment où il s’agit de préparer les licenciements. Une fois dehors de l’entreprise à la suite d’événements qui les renvoient à leur situation de salariés liés par le seul biais d’un contrat salarial de subordination juridique, l’idée d’un retour dans une entreprise de même nature leur paraît insoutenable. <p>Cette deuxième partie riche, originale et dense, fait un pendant particulièrement efficace à la première qui est de nature plus abstraite et plus informative. Ensemble, elles construisent un parcours de recherche qui témoignent des qualités de chercheure d’Aline Bingen. / Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The dissertation examines the process of retrenchment in a public institution with reference to the execution of such a process by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). The aim is to establish whether or not the retrenchment was substantively and procedurally fair as required by legislation. Notwithstanding the fact that the staff may have been disadvantaged by the short retrenchment notice (the staff did not have representation prior to the announcement, and the swiftness of the process did not, under the circumstances, provide the staff with enough time to comprehensively apply their mind to the underlying issues), the dissertation finds that the retrenchments had been substantively fair given the fact that the IEC could not retain all staff because of budgetary constraints. The dissertation also finds that the process had been procedurally fair in accordance with section 189 of the Labour Relations Act, 66 of 1995. / Public Adminstration & Development Studies / M.A. (Public Administration)

The dissertation examines the process of retrenchment in a public institution with reference to the execution of such a process by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). The aim is to establish whether or not the retrenchment was substantively and procedurally fair as required by legislation. Notwithstanding the fact that the staff may have been disadvantaged by the short retrenchment notice (the staff did not have representation prior to the announcement, and the swiftness of the process did not, under the circumstances, provide the staff with enough time to comprehensively apply their mind to the underlying issues), the dissertation finds that the retrenchments had been substantively fair given the fact that the IEC could not retain all staff because of budgetary constraints. The dissertation also finds that the process had been procedurally fair in accordance with section 189 of the Labour Relations Act, 66 of 1995. / Public Adminstration and Development Studies / M.A. (Public Administration)

The effective management of a strike is generally a challenging phenomenon which impacts on employers, employees and the general public. The main purpose of this study was to analyse the legal implications of employees’ participation in an unprotected strike. The study also explored requirements for a strike to be protected in compliance with the prescribed legislation. From the literary review, cases and legislation, it became clear that compliance plays a key role when a consideration is taken by employees to take part in a strike during dispute resolution. In analysing the legal consequences for participating in an unprotected strike, a finding was made that employers in the end have an upper hand in that when all due processes and procedures are followed, they are empowered to dismiss employees. Legislation and international standards form the cornerstone upon which dispute resolution mechanisms and the rights of employers and employees are derived from. / Mercantile Law / LL.M. (Labour law)

This Doctoral thesis entitled the Constitutionality of Employers' Investigative Procedures and Disciplinary Hearing Processes with Specific Reference to Dismissal of Employees on the Basis of Criminal Misconducts in South Africa, focusses on individual labour law principles of fair labour practices entrenched in section 23(1) of the Constitution. The thesis deals with fairness in situation where an employee who is suspected of committing a criminal act is investigated and subsequently goes through a disciplinary hearing for dismissal. It determines the extent to which an employee’s criminal guilt is decided before dismissal. As such, the thesis is based upon South African judicial interpretation of the right to fair dismissal. In the process the thesis examines the application of principles informing the employer’s duty to provide fair reason concerning the dismissal of employees criminal suspects. In examining if employers observe constitutional transformative objective when conducting criminal investigations and disciplinary hearings - the thesis reviews the extent to which the employer respects constitutional rationales of equity based on the principles of natural justice. These natural justice principles are the basis upon which section 23(1) fairness is founded. Section 23 (1) is implemented through the LRA provisions. The thesis then concludes that, only one principle of natural justice - audi alteram partem is respected within employer flexibility-based fairness while the other principle - nemo judex in propria sua causa is ignored. It is this denial that causes serious procedural challenges in the quest for equity intended in section 23(1) fair labour practices. It is upon these foundational equity concerns that this thesis opposes the flexibility in employer’s criminal investigations and disciplinary hearing processes entrenched in item 4 (1) of Schedule 8 of the LRA fair procedure for dismissal of employees suspected of criminal acts. The thesis interlinks labour law and criminal law to advocate for the missing constitutionally justiciable fairness for employees who have committed criminal misconducts. It argues that the current judicial interpretation of labour law fairness is based upon the principle of flexibility underlying dismissals, asserting that fairness based on flexibility breeds informal procedural processes which exempt employers from observing crucial constitutional fairness principles expressed through proportionality-based prescripts. The thesis concludes that the practice of including the right against self-incrimination in employment law, done in other common law countries be introduced into the South African labour law through section 39 of the Constitution so that the identified procedural challenges are regulated. / Mercantile Law / LL.D.