Labour legislation was introduced into agriculture in the early 1990s with the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) being gazetted in 1992. Since the mid-1990s "new" labour legislation pertaining to agriculture has been implemented in South Africa, and includes the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 (amended), the Unemployment Insurance Act 63 of 2001 (amended), the Labour Relations Act (LRA) 66 of 1995, the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act 3 of 1996, the Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 of 1997, the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, the Skills Development Levies Act 9 of 1999, and the Sectoral Determination (an amendment of the BCEA 75 of 1997) which includes the imposition of minimum wages. This study examines the legislation in detail as well as the implications of this legislation for agricultural labour employment in South Africa. A relative increase in the cost (transaction and wage) and risk associated with labour motivates farmers to replace labour with machinery, machinery contractors, labour contractors or new technologies that are labour-saving. This results in a decrease in the demand for unskilled workers and higher levels of poverty and unemployment in South Africa. This study estimates long-run price elasticities of demand for regular labour in South African (SA) agriculture using both Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression and a Two-stage Least Squares (2SLS) simultaneous equations model. The 2SLS model includes a labour supply equation. Secondary data obtained over a 43 year period (1960-2002) from Statistics South Africa and the Abstract of Agricultural Statistics were used in this study. Both models were estimated for the period 1960-2002, and included a piecewise slope dummy variable for wages with the threshold year taken as 1991 to reflect expected changes in farm labour legislation. Study results show that the estimated long-run price elasticity of demand for labour for the pre-1991 (i.e., 1960-1990) period was -0,25 for the OLS model and -0,23 for the 2SLS model suggesting that the demand for regular labour was jnelastic during this period. For the post-1991 period (1991-2002), the long-run elasticity was estimated as -1,32 for the OLS model and -1,34 for the 2SLS model. This shows a structural change in demand that questions the appropriateness of minimum wage and other labour legislation that has raised the cost of regular farm labour in South Africa. Labour legislation introduced in the early 1990s encouraged farmers to substitute casual workers for regular workers. However, the inclusion of all casual workers in minimum wage legislation from 2006 is expected to slow the casualisation of agricultural labour as farmers turn to labour contractors, chemicals and machinery as the next best substitutes. The study found that an increase (decrease) in the price of chemicals (pesticides and herbicides for crops, and labour saving dips and sprays for animals) result in an increase (decrease) in the demand for regular labour. The demand for labour is also sensitive to changes in real interest rates (used as a proxy for machinery costs). The cost of capital would decrease (increase) as interest rates fall (rise), resulting in farmers adopting more (less) machinery and equipment, causing a decrease (increase) in the demand for regular labour, ceteris paribus. In order to reverse the regular labour unemployment trend in SA agriculture, government could choose to adopt more flexible labour market regulations (i.e., legislation regarding the hiring and dismissing of farm workers, and increases in wages and benefits for the farm worker could be based on the individual performance of each worker as opposed to increasing the wages of the entire workforce through minimum wages) which would reduce labour costs and encourage farmers to employ more labour. / Thesis (M.Agric.Man.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

In the sphere of labour and employment, "prerogative" is usually taken to refer to the "right to manage" an organisation. The right can be divided into those decisions which relate to the utilisation of the human resources of the organisation and decisions of an "economic" or "business" nature. This thesis focuses on the first category of decisionmaking. It is generally accepted by employers and trade unions that employers have the right to manage employees. The legal basis for this right is to be found in the contract of employment which has as one of its elements the subordination of the employee to the authority of the employer. This element affords the employer the legal right to give instructions and creates the legal duty for the employee to obey these instructions. Employers' right to manage is, however, neither fixed nor static. The main purpose of this thesis is to determine the extent of employers' right to manage employees. This is done by examining the restrictions imposed by the law {ie common law and legislation) and collective bargaining. The examination is accordingly focussed on what is Jett of employer prerogative. A number of conclusions are drawn from the examination. One of the most important conclusions reached is that, although most of an employer's common law decisionmaking powers have been statutorily regulated, none have been rescinded. The employer has accordingly retained its decision-making power, albeit in a more restricted or limited form. This makes further restriction of its decision-making power through contractual or statutory provisions or collective bargaining possible. It, however, also makes the lessening or even the total removal of these restrictions through future statutory provisions or collective bargaining possible. / Law / LL.D.

Agriculture is a major employer of labour in South Africa with about 8.8% of the total labour force directly involved in agricultural production (StatsSA, 2007a). Farm wages and working conditions in the Albany district were researched in 1957 by Roberts (1958) and 1977 by Antrobus (1984). Research in 2008, involving face-to-face interviews of a sample survey of 40 Albany farmers, was undertaken to update the situation facing farm labourers and allowed for comparisons with the work previously done. Farm workers were governed by common law until 1994 when the government intervened with legislation. The introduction of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (1997) for farm workers, amended in 2002 to include minimum wage legislation, and the Extension of Security of Tenure Act (ESTA) of 1997 impacted the supply and demand of farm workers. Other impacts have been due to the Albany district experiencing an increase in the establishment of Private Game Reserves and game-tourism with a simultaneous decline in conventional farming. It was concluded from the survey conducted that minimum wage legislation decreased the demand for regular and increased the demand for casual labour, which incur lower costs including transaction costs, than their regular counterparts. The ESTA of 1997 contributed to a decreased number of farm residents, which had spin-off affects on the supply of labour. Farmers experienced a simultaneous price-cost squeeze, which furthermore decreased the demand for labour. Studying the working and living conditions showed that farm workers had limited access to educational and recreational facilities which negatively impacted the supply of labour.

No abstract available / Mercantile Law / M. A. (Mercantile Law)

Thesis (LLM (Mercantile Law))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / The freedom to transfer an undertaking is part of the employer’s freedom of contract. The transferee of an undertaking under the common law has the right to choose whether he wants to contract with employees or not. By the implementation of section 197 of the Labour Relations Act (1995) and the amended sections 197, 197A of the Labour Relations Act (2002) the legislator provides for an automatic transfer in cases where the undertaking is transferred as a going concern. The former accordance with the regulations of the insolvency law and the fact that sequestration or the winding-up of an insolvent undertaking had to be to the advantage of the creditors was lost after the legislative steps of 1995. The effects of the above-mentioned sections and especially the problems regarding the transfer of insolvent undertakings shall be analysed in this thesis. It is the aim of this thesis to examine how sections 197, 197A of the Labour Relations Act and section 38 of the Insolvency Act should be applied and interpreted to achieve social justice. This makes it necessary to examine the history and development of the South African law of transfer of an insolvent undertaking too. Section 197 of the Labour Relations Act is mostly based on European law. Although it is not the intention of this thesis to compare the European law with the South African law, several South African aspects will be examined from a European and especially German perspective.

This paper focused on how competing interests of employers and employees are accomodated in the South African Labour Relations arena. An analysis of the legislative framework was undertaken to establish how the legislation provides for changes in workplace practices as well as the protection that it affords employees against unwanted or unilateral changes. The main focus of the research was on how the South African Courts have interpreted the legislation and how it has applied the law in cases involving the changing of terms and conditions of employment, that has come before it.

LL.M. (Labour Law) / In this minor dissertation the author argues that the Constitution will fail to uphold its own fundamental values if the rights and obligations which it enforces remains stale and outdated. A supreme body of law needs to be one which is breathing and alive, and which may adapt to fundamental changes in society. In turn, it is will be suggested that, if the Constitution remains ineffectual, labour law (which seeks to uphold its values and vision) will in turn become ineffectual. The minor dissertation will therefore consider the following pertinent question: Will the inability of the judiciary to interpret labour law in a manner that furthers the fundamental values in the Constitution result in such legislation becoming ineffective? It will be submitted that in order to promote economic and labour development one must be mindful of the social fluctuations present in light of a constitutionally supreme state. It is also stated that, in order to avoid a deadlock of complicated and outdated labour legislation which becomes inflexible, the Legislature must allow the Judiciary to develop such law to the extent that is necessary for its continued existence insofar as it complies with the Constitution. Without a strong and adhesive method in developing labour practice, social, economic and technological advancements will fail. Labour legislation must therefore be adaptive and flexible. The judiciary must therefore be adaptive and flexible in their own application of such law. In turn the Constitution is theoretically adaptive too, and its premise is achieved through the promotion of effective labour legislation, specifically.

M.Phil. (Labour Law and Employment Relations) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Thesis (LLM. (Labour Law)) -- University of Limpopo, 2013 / Reinstatement is one of the remedies for unfair dismissals. Dismissed employees have a recourse to approach the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration1 or labour courts to seek reinstatement. The arbitrator or the courts have a discretion to order reinstatement based on the facts of the case, sometimes retrospectively. Retrospectivity is a discretionary matter in the hands of the courts and therefore the courts of law have been inundated with cases where the employers wanted to limit the retrospectivity of the application of reinstatement as a remedy for unfair dismissals. On the other hand, the dismissed employees would want the court to extend the application. In other circumstances the court would award compensation instead of retrospective reinstatement like where reinstating the employee is just practically impossible or the employee himself does not want to be reinstated. The Labour Relations Act2 has limited the power or discretion of the employers to dismiss employees at will. Section 185 of the LRA provides that there should be fair and valid reason for dismissals. The employer would have to prove the reason for dismissal for it to be valid. On the other hand, the case law also has established that where there is unfair dismissal, the arbitrator or the court must give the primary remedy in favour of the employees which is to reinstate them in their work. Such reinstatement would have the effect as if the employee was never dismissed in the first place.

Thesis (LLM. (Labour Law)) -- University of Limpopo, 2012 / The overlap between misconduct and incapacity in case of intoxication and alcoholism remains a grey area. It is trite that an employee can be dismissed if under the influence of alcohol during working hours. On the other hand, the Code of Good Practice: Dismissal for conduct and incapacity in item (10) of schedule 8 of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 singles out alcoholism as a form of incapacity that may require counselling and rehabilitation. There is a thin line between cases in which intoxication can be treated as misconduct, and those cases in which alcoholism should be treated as incapacity. The purpose of this study is to critically analyse dismissal on the grounds of alcoholism and intoxication at the workplace.