The right to strike is an important element of collective bargaining in South Africa. While protected strike action provides significant protection to employees and employers alike, unprotected strike action does not. Given the potential adverse consequences of engaging in unprotected strike action it is important that the delineation between protected and unprotected strike action be made clear to all parties concerned, including employees, employers and trade unions. This involves a discussion of what conduct amounts to strike action in the first instance as well as a discussion of the procedural and substantive requirements which must be satisfied in order to avoid strike action being rendered unprotected. It is the purpose of this dissertation to provide such clarity. In order to do so recent amendments to labour legislation have been taken into account; The Code of Good Practice: Collective Bargaining, Industrial Action and Picketing will also be considered.

Includes bibliographical references / The aim this dissertation is to establish what the purpose of labour law is and thereafter determine whether or not the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (LRA) is doing enough to make sure that such purpose is realised. It is important to note that this paper is only limited to the purpose of labour law and the application of the LRA as far as non-standard workers (particularly temporary employment services) are concerned. If the purpose of labour law is established it will be easier for the legislator to focus the developments of the LRA in line with the desired purpose. Furthermore, an understanding of the purpose of labour law, makes the job of the courts much easier when it comes to the interpretation of such provisions. In doing so the non-standard workers will be protected from some of the difficulties which they are currently facing in the workplace.

Collective bargaining within public education and limited confidence in the arbitration process has resulted in strike action by educators with adverse consequences on learners. The right to basic education is fundamental and of national importance. Depriving a society the right to basic education is tantamount to depriving them of their human dignity; hence their human right. However, the learner's passive right to basic education is seemingly in conflict with the educator's active right to strike action and freedom to associate. In reconciling these conflicting constitutional rights, this mini-dissertation argues that basic education should be designated as minimum service within essential services. Relying on international and domestic legal instruments, case law and academic literature, this dissertation justifies the need to persuade the Essential Services Committee (ESC) to recommend designating basic education as essential service to parliament. This should be based on negotiations and recommendations between the government and educator's trade union to recommend designating basic education as essential service. This, however, will be contingent on the imperative to ensure certainty and credibility in the dispute resolution mechanisms where collective bargaining fails. This dissertation further recommends the need to strengthen the processes of conciliation, mediation and arbitration and also ensure compliance with compulsory arbitration awards, as a formidable measure to balance both the rights of the educator (freedom of association) and the learner to basic education in South Africa.

Includes bibliographical references / Recruitment is an integral part of any organization. It forms the foundation upon which every other practice is built. It is a process which is often regarded lightly and not given the due consideration it deserves. It is therefore pertinent to have a recruitment process in place which ensures legal compliance, as well as the longevity of the business. The concept of legal compliance in the employment recruitment and promotion process has proved at best inconspicuous. The process has allowed for much legal debate, which spans from the CCMA all the way through to the Constitutional Court. The process has also allowed for much jurisprudence to be developed regarding the implementation and application of the statutes governing it. This dissertation will focus on the limitations placed on management prerogative by labour law the procedural and substantive fairness requirements. It will do so by exploring case law, risk management measures and what is required to ensure a contract of employment is legal and binding on both parties. It is important to read this dissertation in the light of how labour law overlaps with and impacts on management prerogative. This view is necessary to understand how the push - pull dynamic between these two factors in recruitment and promotion have molded the process to encompass issues that substantively outweigh their procedural counterparts and vice versa. It is necessary in this dissertation to expound on the fundamental law governing the recruitment and promotion process and will explore concepts of management prerogative, amongst others. The objective of this dissertation is to investigate the ambiguities imposed by procedural and substantive fairness and will venture into risk management measures and contractual obligation s as a failsafe for employers to demystify the process.

The only way Malawi can ensure adequate social security coverage to her citizens is to extend the scope and coverage of social security benefits provided by the labour legislations to all workers as they are more reliable and less burdensome on the poor state. This is premised on the fact that most Malawians work, but only a few are employees as shall be seen later in this chapter. This will reduce the burden on the state of providing social security to all her citizens as most will be covered by social insurance. It is against this background that this study analyses the Malawian pieces of legislation on social security with the aim of identifying the gaps that are affecting social security coverage to Malawian workers. In doing so, these legislations will be examined against the relevant international conventions specifically the ILO C 102 and the SADC Code. The study will also focus on how best to improve social security benefits coverage in Malawi and making it more relevant to Malawians.

Includes bibliographical references. / The rendering of work by foreigners without the authorization to work is a contentious issue in South Africa. South Africa possesses one of the most progressive Constitutions, yet many are left at the fringes of the economy with little protection. Despite constitutional entrenchment of fundamental labour rights, many well-deserving workers are disentitled from important labour protections because their employment contract violates immigration laws. Unauthorized workers are formally excluded from access to certain legal institutions and economic benefits as most of the protective labour laws are centred on an existing employer-employee relationship.

Includes bibliographical references. / The intricacies and legalities concerning the notion that under certain circumstances a director may be regarded as an employee have given rise to much litigation in the past two decades. It is humbly submitted that few scenarios have created as much confusion and grief as the aforementioned idea in our South African jurisprudence. For the past two decades lawyers have jousted in the CCMA, Labour Court and Labour Appeals Court on the question of whether or not a company director is an employee and subject to the protection from unfair dismissal contained in the LRA. This dissertation approaches the controversial topic by examining the history and origin of the concept of the office of director. The legislative framework concerning company and labour law is examined along with the judicial decisions which have shaped this particular aspect of the law. A brief overview of comparative labour law is discussed in an attempt to gain a multinational view of the matter. Throughout this dissertation it is of cardinal importance to view the text through both the lenses of Company- and Employment Law. Failing to do so will have the inevitable result that one does not properly reflect and weigh in on the theoretical implications associated with the development of both these branches of law.

Includes bibliographical references. / The government in the new democratic South Africa prioritised resolving the problems plaguing the industrial relations system. It did this by enacting a new labour relations Act. This Act repealed the 1956 LRA and enacted the Labour Relations Act of 1995 which established a collective bargaining system combining new elements with elements from the previous legislative dispensation. The new system retained the voluntary duty to bargain. It balanced this by entrenching a protected right to resort to industrial action as well as by creating organisational rights available to unions with ‘sufficient’ and/or majority representivity. The former enabled unions to compel the employer to bargain, whilst the latter assisted unions in bargaining. The Act also promoted centralised bargaining. It did this by retaining, but renaming industrial councils, bargaining councils and by ensuring that bargaining council agreements could be extended where parties to the agreement covered the majority of workers in a sector. Therefore, the effectiveness of trade unions depended, to a substantial extent, ‘on their representativeness and their cohesiveness’. The collective bargaining mechanism established by the 1995 LRA thus became the primary ‘mechanism for setting wages and other terms of employment…a way of managing complex organisations…a form of joint industrial government, and generally…a means of regulating labour-management relations’.

Includes bibliographical references. / Employers trapped in economic difficulties or facing tough business challenges often wave the wand of retrenchment in the hope that the problem will go away. This often leads to workers unexpectedly finding themselves unemployed and queuing at the unemployment offices. In 2002, legislative provisions were introduced into the statute dealing specifically with large-scale retrenchments,1 allowing the parties to appoint an external facilitator to facilitate the retrenchment process. Although this new retrenchment process for large scale retrenchments is reflected relatively clear in and simple in the statute, this dissertation will focus on large-scale retrenchment process and highlight the positive impact facilitation, as an option,2 has introduced.

Includes bibliographical references.