"Just cause" legislation, refers to any local, state, or national law which would provide, to all workers, protection from arbitrary and capricious termination from employment. Under such a law, employers could be required to establish just or reasonable cause for discharging an employee. Such legislation has been proposed, but not enacted, in several states. The purpose of the research was to determine the probable impact of just cause legislation on the discipline and discharge procedures of nonunion, private sector employers if such legislation is enacted. A review of just cause legislative proposals was conducted in order to determine what standards of just cause would be required under such laws. Since every proposal favored the use of arbitration to resolve discharge disputes, model standards of procedural just cause were derived from arbitration decisions and literature written by arbitrators and other labor authorities. A sample of nonunion, private sector manufacturing firms in Virginia was surveyed with a mailed questionnaire in order to identify employers' current procedures for disciplining and discharging employees. After an analysis of the results of the survey, conclusions were drawn based on a comparison of the survey results to the model standards of just cause. In general, it was concluded that if just cause legislation is enacted employers would need to: undertake a better investigation of mitigating circumstances prior to taking disciplinary action, provide more consistent enforcement and application of rules, and improve the overall formality and documentation of discipline and discharge procedures and actions. / M.S.

The purpose of this research was to study the effect of the conflict settlement process on the degree of expressed organizational commitment of employees in a collective bargaining setting. The research was done in a basic industry in northern Alabama. The instrument included the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) developed by Mowday, Porter, and Steers. Demographic variables measured were education, age, and sex. Main effects variables were tenure; union membership; and self-described experience with and feeling toward grievance/arbitration as a category 1 grievant, category 2 grievant, witness, and supervisor. Data were analyzed with hierarchical multiple regression. No statistically significant results were found. Limitations included the economic climate of the region and the industrial relations climate of the company.

There is now widespread acceptance in the organisations that human resources are an important source of competitive advantage, or an important component of the value chain. In the public service sector, the delivery of services to the populace depends on the competence, motivation and discipline of the employees. All of this points to the importance of properly dealing with HR issues in organisations. This empirical study gathered the views of Ward Managers of the Kwa-Zulu Natal Department of Education. 40% of Ward Managers participated in this survey, and the responses were analysed utilising the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results indicate that the majority of respondents perceived the department’s disciplinary process to be unfair both substantively and procedurally. The majority of respondents felt that there were inconsistencies in the decisions to discipline employees; that the sanctions were inconsistent and that the disciplinary hearings took too long to finalise. Finally, this study recommended further research on the subject, especially utilising different methodologies such as in depth case studies and unstructured interviews in order to gain insights into the reasons why Ward Managers hold the views that they hold or to refine some of the concepts in order to understand what exactly they understand by concepts such as ‘unfairness’. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

Thesis (DPsych (Health Psychology)) - Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, 2007. / Submitted as a requirement for the degree of Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology, Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology - 2007. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (p. 189-210).

The Public Service Commission (PSC) is an independent oversight body established in terms of chapter 10 of the Constitution, 1996. Although, its powers and functions were enacted in the Public Service Commission Act, 1997, this institution has been in existence since the early 1900’s. As an institution which was birthed during an era wrought with injustice, inequality upon a labour law framework which barely existed as the concept is understood today, the PSC played a leading role in the management of the public service. The influence of the Treasury, Governor-General and socio-political forces throughout the 1900’s negatively impacted the manner in which the PSC was effectively able to exercise its’ powers and functions. Subsequent thereto, the rise of staff associations and their concerted effort to be party to matters pertaining to the employment relationship, placed the PSC in a precarious situation which created the perception that the PSC was a “toothless organization”. Although the PSC has since transitioned significantly in that many of the functions it performed are now exercised by the Ministry of Public Service and Administration, today, this perception is still as real as it was in the 1970’s. The primary purpose of this treatise is to provide a historical background to present time, depicting the role undertaken by the PSC and whether the perception of being ineffective in the administration of the public service, remains. The researcher will provide a distinction of the nature of grievances dealt with by the PSC and other alternate dispute resolution bodies, with specific attention being drawn to the methodologies applied in the execution of its mandate relating to labour relations and personnel practices, and the overall bearing it this has on the effective administration of the public service. In the conclusion it is submitted that the powers and functions of the PSC may extend to directions, advice and recommendations (unenforceable), however in comparison to other dispute resolution bodies, these powers and functions are centred around the promotion of constitutionally enshrined values and principles. PSC prides itself in the fruits of its labour as it is able to make a far greater impact by investigating root causes of grievances and redressing systemic issues, emanating from yesteryear to date. It is therefore submitted that as a result of different methodologies applied in comparison to other dispute resolution bodies, the highly administrative processes embarked proves far more thorough and effective and as a result cannot be compared or perceived to be ineffective. Lastly, it is submitted that the co-operative rather than adversarial approach embarked upon by the PSC is befitting for a young democratic country where impact-driven bears far reaching results, extending over the public service administration at large. To this end, the researcher refutes the misconception that the PSC is a toothless, ineffective organization which no longer plays a meaningful role within the Public Service Administration.

Thesis (MTech (Public Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / This study assessed the role of the Public Service Commission (PSC) in the public service grievance investigations in South Africa, with the intention of finding a feasible approach for constructing and attending to fair and just grievance procedure. This study also sought to investigate the effectiveness of the methods used by the PSC employee grievances with the intention of recommending an appropriate approach in dealing with grievances. The PSC, as a Constitutional oversight body, may be charged with responsibilities to assess if the public service deals with grievances of employees, but fail to assess itself. It is studies like this that mirror how the PSC assesses employee grievances in the public service and whether it succeeds in advancing effectively and effective on that.

M.Comm. / The purpose of the study is to determine, through literature research, what the current situation is regarding Labour Relation Management in Education. In order to search for answers, various resources have been used -the majority of which are primary and authoritive of nature. In the first instance a few basic concepts and definitions in labour law in education were studied. Issues which were discussed focused on the definition of employer and employee and the relationship between them. The professional nature of the teaching profession was discussed, including the various councils which have an impact on industrial relations in education. In chapter three an in depth analysis has been made of the role of the various legislation regarding industrial relations in the educational field. The focus of this analysis was on the following key legislation: The Constitution 108 of 1996 The Labour Relation Act 66 of 1995. The Employment of Educators Act 76 of 1998. The Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 The Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 The Development of Basic Skills Act. South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 10 Regulations: Regulations Regarding Terms and Conditions Of Employment of Educators R 1743 OF 13 November 1995. Regulations on Personnel Administration Measures (PAM) 18 February 1999. In chapter four the disciplinary process in education was discussed at length. The focus here was on the disciplinary code, principles of the disciplinary process as well as internal disciplinary procedures -specifically by whom and at what level it should be managed. A clear distinction was made between internal and external procedures. The principle of natural justice under the audi alteram partem and the nemo iudex in propria causa principle was discussed. An important aspect here is the appointment and dismissal of teachers in governing body posts. In chapter six the grievance procedure in education-such as the definition of grievance and how it should be dealt with, were discussed. The management of grievances as quickly and as close as possible to the cause as well as the reaction and conduct of the parties concerned, were also discussed. In conclusion the study was summarized and certain shortfalls highligted. Certain recommendations were also made, especially concerning the Administrative Act 3 2000, and the use thereof in labour relations.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Public Administration)) -- University of Limpopo, 2023 / Over the years, the South African Police Service (SAPS) has been recording the highest number of employee grievances in comparison to other government institutions in South Africa. Some of the grievances reported by employees remain unresolved. For these reasons, the primary aim of this study was to determine the causes of the high rate of grievances in the Pretoria policing area of the SAPS. To achieve the primary aim of the study, concurrent mixed methods were applied, in particular the survey questionnaire, interviews and document study. On the one hand, the SPSS version 26 software was used to analyse quantitative data collected through a survey questionnaire. On the other hand, qualitative content analysis was used to analyse data collected through interviews. The findings of this study illustrate that the common sources of grievances in the SAPS are promotions, unpaid leave, unfair treatment and rejection of application for transfers. The findings of this study confirmed that autocratic supervisory behaviour as a management factor is among the major factors that account for the high rate of grievances in the SAPS. The study has found that in the process of applying the grievance procedure to address grievances, the SAPS complied with timelines linked to each grievance phase only to a slight extent. In relation to the causes of unresolved grievances, the study found that the involvement of legal representatives in grievances, lack of impartiality of the part of grievance officers, the grievants’ failure to provide testimony and failure to gather adequate evidence pertaining to grievances contributed to the high rate of unresolved grievances. This study has, however, concluded that despite the challenges experienced in grievance handling, the SAPS has the capacity and resources to turn the situation around thereby ameliorating the current situation pertaining to grievances.

No description available.

The efforts to create an equal non-discriminatory South African society should also manifest in the workplace and, more specifically, in the academic arena. Academics are regarded as the leaders of society and the shapers of the future of a country. Their conduct should be of the highest ethical and moral standards, and no form of discrimination should be allowed by or against them. In terms of the Employment Equity Act, sexual harassment is a form of unfair discrimination and carries a substantial penalty should an employer be found guilty of vicarious liability. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived incidence of sexual harassment of academic staff at higher education institutions in South Africa, as well as their awareness of the policies dealing with sexual harassment. The sufficiency of the grievance procedures designed to deal with complaints of sexual harassment was also evaluated. A cross-sectional survey design was used to reach the research objectives. The Sexual Harassment Questionnaire (SHQ) was randomly distributed amongst a sample of 710 academic staff members from 10 higher education institutions in South Africa. A response rate of 22,8 percent (n = 162) was achieved. The statistical analysis was carried out using the SPSS 15.0 program (SPSS 2007), a program that is used to conduct statistical analysis regarding reliability and validity of the measuring instruments, descriptive statistics, /-tests, analysis of variance, correlation coefficients and multiple regression analysis. Article 1 focuses on the perceived incidence of sexual harassment. In this article, five categories of sexual harassment were used as indicators of the incidence thereof, namely verbal, non-verbal, physical, gender and quid pro quo harassment. A statistically significant correlation coefficient with a large effect was found between verbal and non-verbal harassment. A practically significant correlation of a medium effect was also found between physical, verbal, non-verbal and quid pro quo harassment and sexism, as well as between the control item of sexual harassment and physical, verbal, non-verbal and quid pro quo harassment. Analyses of variance were performed on the different demographic groups using various variables and the findings indicate no practically significant effect of gender, age, population group or years of service on sexual harassment. In Article 2, the awareness of sexual harassment policies and procedures were determined. Various aspects of policies were investigated, such as content, development, types and implementation. The results show that despite indications that sexual harassment policies do exist and that they are regarded as effective tools in addressing sexual harassment, the implementation of such policies is not effective. In addition, few academic staff members receive training/guidance on the utilisation of these policies. Significant correlation coefficients were found between the elements of an effective policy and between population groups and some of the elements. Article 3 reports on findings regarding the sufficiency of grievance procedures in dealing with complaints of sexual harassment. The results show a positive correlation between confidence in the grievance procedure, the amount of attention that supervisors pay to grievances, regular feedback to employees regarding the progress of grievances, willingness of supervisors to take decisions, the amount of confidence in supervisors and the effectiveness of the procedure. The reluctance of management to deal with grievances unless they are reported via the grievance procedure was related to the perceived effectiveness of the procedure. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Sociology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.