The paper will focus primarily on Labour Law with a particular emphasis being placed on the amendments to the LRA that deal with labour-broker employees. In order to fulfil this endeavour, the perceived purpose of labour law will be looked at to inform a discussion of what the amendments should be aiming to achieve. Further reference will also be made to fundamental International Labour conventions in order to enlighten the analysis.

Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Vertical income differentials between occupational levels in South Africa are among the highest in the world. Under apartheid skilled work performed predominantly by white employees was artificially overvalued, while unskilled work performed predominantly by black employees was systematically undervalued. These discriminatory social and legal norms laid the foundation for the existent disproportionate income differentials. The post apartheid government headed by Nelson Mandela acknowledged the existence of the apartheid wage gap. They were mindful that the vertical pay gap need not only be ‛deracialized', but needs to be eradicated. In this regard the South African Constitution of 1996 and the Employment Equity Act of 1998 (EEA) underpins the demand for non-discriminatory pay structures. Section 27 of the EEA was enacted to address disproportionate income differentials, but has not yet been adequately implemented. The purpose of this thesis is to consider whether the Entgeltrahmenabkommen (ERA) (a general agreement on pay grades) which resulted in the redesign of the pay structure in the German metal and electrical industry correcting long-standing pay differentials between socalled blue and white collar workers, can add value to the implementation of section 27 of the EEA. The thesis consists of six chapters. After the introduction chapter, chapters 2 and 3 consider the historical and current context of income inequality in South Africa; and chapters 4 and 5 provide a detailed analysis of the ERA in Germany and the recommendations that derive from the ERA. Chapter 6 concludes the thesis. There are important lessons to be derived both from the drafting and the implementation phases of the ERA. The ERA process revealed that being conscious of the different challenges that might arise in each phase is a prerequisite for success. The development of norms and benchmarks in the drafting phase minimised pay discrimination. The implementation phase of the ERA showed that prejudicial views and attitudes can hinder the complete eradication of discriminatory payment practices if sufficient heed is not paid to their strong influential role. This thesis concludes that the lessons derived from the implementation of the ERA can assist in introducing proportionate vertical income differentials as required by section 27 of the EEA.

The South African clothing industry has shed over 70 000 jobs in the last decade. This has given rise to huge debate in the industry and academia about the role of the bargaining council in regulating the industry as well as other factors such as trade liberalisation that are causing the industry to shrink. This study explores attitudes held by formal and informal clothing workers toward the regulatory environment and possible alternatives to current regulation by the bargaining council. The research aimed to explore worker understanding of the regulatory environment, in particular the wages versus job-security trade-off; to find out whether workers are aware of alternatives to the current wage model, such as performance-based incentive pay; to explore the attitudes workers hold toward home-based informal factories; and to assess the attitudes of workers to worker cooperatives. Using semi- structured face-to-face interviews, 24 respondents (ten formal and 14 informal workers) were selected to participate in an attitude survey that explored their feelings across attitudinal classes - cognitive, affective, and behavioural, using the non-probability purposive sampling technique. Research findings show that both sets of workers generally had a very poor understanding of the industry's regulatory environment. After receiving brief explanations of alternatives to regulation by the bargaining council, the workers understood them cognitively and attitudes varied between the two groups. All workers were generally against performance-based incentive pay because it requires them to place too much trust in employers. Informal work was viewed as a viable alternative although formal workers could not conceive joining informal firms. Both sets of workers expressed favour towards worker co-operatives, which have the advantage of changing the working relationship from manager and worker to worker as owner, thus empowering workers. All workers, however, demonstrated overall awareness of the pressures facing the clothing industry, such as those caused by cheap Chinese imports. The evidence is however, not sufficient to arrive at a set of conclusions regarding alternatives to regulation by the bargaining council.

This paper is on the impact of the Labour Relations Amendment Act 6 of 2014(LRAA) on the Temporary Employment Services(TES) in South Africa. The TES practice involves a triangular relationship where the TES places workers/employees with a client to provide labour for the benefit of the client. Over the years, there has been an outcry from organised labour for the ban of the TES practice on the basis that it encouraged the exploitation of workers and undermined job security. Other issues associated with the practice were low wages and inferior conditions of service of the placed workers compared to employees employed by the client doing same or similar work. Initially, the TES practice was regulated in a limited way by the Labour Relations Act of 1956 as well as the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (LRA). The LRA initially only regulated the TES practice in so far as it recognised that the TES is the employer of placed workers and it created provisions for joint and several liability for the client and the TES under certain limited circumstances. Despite these attempts to regulate the practice, organised labour felt it was still not good enough as the same problems continued to persist, as a result they continued to challenge the constitutionality of this practice and called for it to be completely banned. In response, the legislature introduced the Labour Relations Amendment Act No 6 of 2014 (LRAA) in an effort to close the loopholes identified. Section 198A(3)(b)(the deeming provision) introduced by the LRAA stipulates that after a period of three months of placement of workers by a TES with a client, the client is deemed the employer of those workers. It is the interpretation of this deeming provision that has sparked a legal debate in South Africa, resulting in two views on how the deeming provision should be interpreted. The first view is the ‘dual employment' interpretation which suggests that after the three months placement has lapsed, both the TES and the client become employers of the placed workers. The second view is the ‘sole employment' interpretation and it proposes that after the three months has lapsed, the client becomes the sole employer of the placed employees. This legal debate was eventually settled by the Constitutional Court(CC) in 2018 in the Assign Services (Pty) Limited v National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and Others(CCT194/17) [2018] ZACC 22(Assign Services). The majority view in the CC ruled that the sole employment interpretation is the correct interpretation to be ascribed to the deeming provision, whilst the minority view favoured the dual employment interpretation. This dissertation will critically analyse the legal jurisprudence involved in this debate as well as the implications of the CC decision on the operations of the TES practice in South Africa.

Bibliography: leaves 172-175. / The study briefly outlines the development of labour relations in Botswana with specific emphasis on developments leading to the establishment of the Industrial Court. Various provisions of the Trade Disputes (Amendment) Act 1992 pertaining to the Industrial Court are set out. The study continues to review the nature and functions of the Industrial Court. The study also looks at the Industrial Court process and assesses it in terms of the established principles pertaining to an efficient dispute resolution system.

This dissertation presents a critical analysis of section 6(4) of the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 (“EEA”) and seeks to address the question of whether it is likely to achieve its stated objective of giving effect to the constitutional right to equality. In conducting my analysis, I consider the concept of managerial prerogative and discuss what underlies the drive for substantive equality in order to determine why the issue of protection from discriminatory income disparities has been removed from the realm of an employer’s traditional prerogative. Next, I highlight the requirements for establishing a claim of discrimination in terms section 6(4) and the remedies available to a successful complainant. I then turn to highlight the limitations introduced by the statutorily prescribed comparator in section 6(4) before demonstrating that the regulated methodology for assessing the value of work and the factors for justifying a differentiation in terms and conditions of employment give significant deference to employer prerogative. My analysis proceeds to consider whether, following the introduction of section 6(4), an administrative body whose primary function is the conduct of formal investigation into discriminatory pay practices and the resolution of equal pay disputes ought to have been created. I ultimately conclude that section 6(4) of the EEA provides only a partial solution to the issue of discriminatory pay disparities in South Africa and is likely to have a limited effect in contributing to the achievement of the State’s objective of achieving substantive equality. In analysing section 6(4), I draw on the experience of the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Canada. While the socio-economic and political landscapes of these jurisdictions may not be apposite to the South African experience, these jurisdictions have a long legislative history in pay equality issues which assist in establishing a benchmark for South Africa.

A fundamental adjustment to our perspectives on the systemic inequalities that exist in South Africa is necessary. Our seemingly neutral laws need to be reassessed to fully understand their practical impact. Section 194 of the Labour Relations Act provides an overtly neutral law in the form of a limitation on the compensation awardable in employment matters. The limitation is the equivalent of either 12 or 24 month's remuneration. The text expresses that compensation must be 'just and equitable', but subject to the limitation. The judges and commissioners that have heard such employment matters have taken this concept of 'just and equitable' and interpreted it to either mean recovering loss suffered, or fairness on a sliding scale of 1 to 12 or 1 to 24 months' remuneration, depending on the case. This dissertation will argue that any text or interpretation of section 194 that utilises remuneration as its sole measurement, is constitutionally invalid. This is because systemic racial and gender inequality in South Africa prevent a free market of opportunity concerning the salaries available to a statistically significant number of women and black persons. The provision in question may not directly intend to differentiate between races and genders, but the indirect effect of the text and interpretation of section 194 is to cause disproportionate disadvantage to certain groups of persons. This dissertation will use case law to bring the unjust impact of section 194 to light; it will then suggest that any use of remuneration as a standard or measure will always create a prima facie case of unfair discrimination on the grounds of race and gender - at least in our country's current economic circumstances. The essential point is that differentiation on the ground of remuneration is inherently indirectly discriminatory, and will, therefore, always require justification for its use. This dissertation will then go on to inquire into the constitutionality within the context of section 194 - ultimately, the conclusion is that the current interpretation which quantifies compensation solely in terms of remuneration, as well as the text of the limitation on compensation that limits in terms of remuneration, cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny. This is followed by recommendations on how to move forward within the bounds of the Constitution. Racial and Gender inequality are embedded within the fabric of South Africa. It is imperative that we reassess the unintended effects of our laws if we are to achieve one of the fundamental goals of the Constitution: equality.

The South African labour market has been characterised by income inequality, which emanates from past discrimination legacies. The wage gap between white workers and blacks have been marginally high. The same goes for the wage gap between males and females who find themselves performing equal value work in most cases. White workers continue to occupy high-level positions in an organisation with higher salaries disproportionately to black workers who generally occupy lower-level positions and with low-income earnings. The dawn of democracy brought a new government that has passed legislation and regulations aimed at reversing the ills of the past and achieving labour reforms and workplace equality. This paper evaluates progress as a result of such legislation and government policy provisions, particularly the Employment Equity Act. The study considers the provisions of section 6(4) of the EEA, which is aimed at race and gender pay income inequality, and the effects of section 27 of the EEA, which attempts to address disproportionate income differentials, by analysing data, and other observations and inputs from various sources. Based on the research and data, the findings point to the continued existence of wage differentials between races in South Africa. The conclusion is that the government's legislative intervention in the labour market through the Employment Equity Act has had a marginal economic impact on employees' wages and labour market transformation in the post-apartheid period. It is recommended that there is a need for a finetuned strategic approach to address both vertical and horizontal wage gap, further to this, the recommendations made by legislated bodies such as the Committee on Employment Equity need to be considered and implemented to achieve the goals as set up in the National Development Plan.

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