Thesis (MTech (Public Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / The purpose of this study was to analyse the labour relations of the workers in the agricultural sector, with reference to the De Doors area in the Western Cape. Despite the political, social and economic changes to better the lives of the farm workers that have been implemented to rectify the inequalities of the past, the labour conditions on farms stayed unchanged. It is evident that there is a gap in the labour relations in the agricultural sector, due to the 2012/13 strike actions that took place. Qualitative research methodology was employed in the study; it provided the researcher with the opportunity to personally interact with the farm workers. It further allowed the researcher to gain a holistic understanding of the daily lives of the farm workers which would foster a better understanding of their daily struggles. Interviews were used as method of data collection. This methodology also enables the researcher to interpret and describe the actions of participants. Good labour relations play a vital role in any industry or organisation. Farm workers are generally classified as vulnerable and the most exploited group of the South African society. They often work irregular hours throughout the year in various weather settings. Regardless of the physical strain that their jobs entail, farm workers earn a low wage and are often deprived of the basic benefits that an employee should be entitled to. This was the reason the farm workers embarked on a strike in 2012/13. The researcher proposed recommendations to the Agricultural department on how to improve the labour relations on the farms in the De Doorns area by suggesting that more labour inspectors are being employed to oversee that legislation are implemented. Skills Development needs to be become compulsory for all farm workers as farming is becoming more technological. Skills Development unlocks talents and creative energy for the farm workers which have a positive impact on production.

The recent amendments made to employment laws and in particular the rewriting of the South African Labour Relations Act has brought into focus the diverse and conflicting interests of employers and employees, which is a concern of labour law analysts. This appraisal of South African of strike law examines the statutory and judicially established labour law in regard to the phenomenon of collective industrial action by employees and the regulation of its occurrence. Historical developments in strike law are traced from the early 1900’s. A period of segregated trade unionism, led ultimately to the introduction of a more inclusive system of regulation, which has in turn been modified to bring the law into line with the new constitutional imperatives. Industrial action occurred, often unregulated and regardless of statutory limitations, and in particular that industrial action which related to mass protest action, now recognized as a specific form of strike. The now repealed Labour Relations Act 28 of 1956 is examined with regard to its strike regulating provisions, and identification of what were then new, unrecognized forms of strike action. It has allowed concepts and principles to be developed, under the unfair labour practice jurisdiction of the Industrial Court, much of which has been incorporated in the new Labour Relations Act. The legislation on strike law, which has been developed over the years, has been refined by the constitutional imperatives introduced to the national legal system. The relevant aspects of the new Constitution Act 108 of 1996 and its pervasive effect on strike law are examined. The right to strike in South African labour law, together with the protection of collective bargaining, is now constitutionally entrenched, and the right to strike is now accepted as a necessary adjunct to collective bargaining. It is necessary to give effect to the Constitution in national legislation, and the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 endeavours to accomplish this in chapter IV in regard to strike law, which, it could be argued, limits rather than gives expression to the right to strike. iii The Labour Relations Act of 1995 is then discussed with reference to protected and prohibited strikes, and unregulated strike action. It will be evident that the Act has endeavoured to contain unprocedural and productivity draining industrial action, by subjecting rights disputes to arbitration and Labour Court adjudication, subject to certain exceptions. The recourse to lock-out, as the employer’s prerogative and general corollary of strike action, is briefly discussed. The case law relating to strikes is discussed in respect of both the 1956 Act and the new Labour Relations Act of 1995. Among the issues explored are the strike provisions which have been developed in statute and labour related common law, such as the identification of issues in dispute, notice of strike, the issuing of ultimatums, the audi altarem partem rule and the court’s approach to protected and unprotected strikes. The intention is to determine trends resulting from amendments to the law and draw inferences regarding, in particular, the unregulated form of strikes that occur within the scope of the protections offered by the Act. It is the intention to determine whether the desired effect has been achieved by implementing legislative reforms in response to public policy considerations.

The lock-out is accepted as a necessary element of collective bargaining. The law relating to lock-out is considered as a legitimate instrument of industrial action. There are a number of procedural requirements for a legal lock-out. The dispute should be referred to a bargaining council (or where there is no bargaining council with jurisdiction, to a statutory council) or, failing which, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration. If the bargaining/statutory council or the commission fails to resolve the dispute, it is no longer required that a ballet should be brought out in favour of the contemplated lock-out before the lock-out could be legal: all that is required is that the period of notice of the intended lock-out is given. The lock-out may either be protected or unprotected. It is protected if it is not prohibited absolutely and the various procedural requirements have been complied with. The protected lock-out is immuned from civil liability. On the other hand a lockout will be unprotected if it does not comply with sections 64 and 65 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995. In the circumstances the Labour Court has exclusive jurisdiction to grant an interdict or order to restrain any person from participating in unprotected industrial action and to order the payment of just and equitable compensation for any loss attributable to the lock-out. Lock-outs are prohibited in specific instances and allowed with some qualifications in others. For example, employers engaged in the provision of essential or maintenance services are prohibited from locking their employees out in order compel them to comply with their demand. Such essential services are Parliamentary services, the South African Police Service and a service the interruption of which endangers the life, personal safety or health of the whole. A distinction is also drawn between offensive and defensive lock-outs. Defensive lock-outs involve the closure of an employer’s premises or the shutting down of its operations during industrial action initiated by workers. The offensive lock-outs, also known as “pre-emptive lock-outs”, amount to an employer initiated form of industrial iv action where the premises are locked and workers are excluded and prevented from working. The law relating to lock-out in South Africa is clearly put in its proper perspective by the interim Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 200 of 1993, final Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 108 of 1996, Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 and in Ex Parte Chairperson of the Constitutional Assembly: In re Certification of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.1 However the situation is unsatisfactory to employers. The interim Constitution guaranteed the “right to strike” and “recourse to the lock-out”. Under the final Constitution lock-outs enjoy no direct protection. The Constitutional Court’s certification judgement rejects the view that it is necessary in order to maintain equality to entrench the right to lock-out once the right to strike has been included. The Constitutional Court concluded that the right to strike and the right to lock-out are not always and necessarily equivalent. However the purpose of the lock-out is to settle collective dispute of the ways permitted by the Labour Relations Act, 1995. The purpose is not to terminate the relationship between the employer and the employee. The employer may not, for example, dismiss employees finally at the end of an unsuccessful lock-out in order to avoid the consequences of impending strike action by the employees.

On 16 August 2012, the South African Police Service fired upon striking miners in Marikana, South Africa, resulting in the death of 34 mineworkers. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of protracted violent industrial labour disputes on socio-economic development in South Africa. The study explores the root causes of labour disputes in Marikana and considers strategies that can be employed to avoid similar violent and destabilising strikes in the mining and other industries. This research confirms that presumably the pursuit of wage increase is still the primary cause of violent strikes in the country. Furthermore, the research shows clearly that working hours, work conditions, sympathy, and demands from employees and trade unions are major causes of labour disputes. The findings also show that amongst other things participation of employees in work related issues like policy formulation can reduce prevalence of labour disputes. The study also reveals that communication between workers and employees in work places can help both parties to discuss issues before extreme measures are taken.

The nationwide strike by 70 000 construction workers between 8 and 15 July 2009 was unprecedented and significant in several respects. This was the first national strike on 2010 World Cup sites by South African construction workers and was therefore an historic event. A second key feature of the strike was the unity displayed by workers and trade unions within a sector organised by several trade unions. Engineering and building workers came out on strike, with the Building Construction & Allied Workers Union (BCAWU) and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) standing together as their representative organisations. A third feature of the strike was the widespread sympathy for it by the South African public and media. This was despite it potentially setting back progress with World Cup projects. Fourthly, the pressure placed upon the trade unions' negotiating team by the Ministry of Labour and the FIFA Local Organising Committee (LOC) proved lethal in undermining their, assisting in causing them to dilute their trade union demands and demobilising the national strike.

M.Com. (Business Management) / A higher standard of living is one of the greatest needs of the South African population. Labour movements believe that a higher standard of living can actually be achieved by paying higher wages. Unfortunately higher wages are demanded and paid at the expense of productivity which is a vital ingredient for economic growth and ultimately economic survival. Employers within the South African economy can address the low productivity ratios through the implementation of performance related schemes. Gain sharing is one of many interventions management can implement to achieve greater performance through labour. By implementing a gain sharing scheme management is able to relate pay to performance and address efficiency ratios which ultimately affects the competitiveness of South African goods and services against world competitors.

Magister Legum - LLM / This paper investigated how the law of industrial action is shaped in South Africa and in Germany, which specific problems occur in South Africa and Germany, and how the different legal systems solve these problems. It also compared the different legal approaches of these two countries. / South Africa

Regular strike action has become a central characteristic of the South African industrial relations system. Whilst in the 1950s strikes were mostly isolated outbursts of relatively short duration, strikes in the 1980s were challenges of unprecedented duration and intensity. It is argued that despite this dramatic change, reflecting a series of discontinuities in both the political and economic arenas, strike action in South Africa does follow distinct patterns, and can be ascribed to a combination of identifiable causes. Principal causal factors include wage aspirations, past experiences and the subjective interpretation thereof, and the role of the union movement. Contingent factors include the prevailing political climate, industrial relations legislation, the amount of information opposing sides possess of their adversaries' intentions as well as spatial issues, such as the internal dynamics of individual communities. Partially as a result of South Africa's political transformation, the late 1980s and early 1990s saw further changes in the industrial relations environment. Reflecting these developments, it is argued that a new type of trade unionism has developed, "coterminous unionism" . This will have far-reaching implications for the nature of industrial conflict. However, it falls fully within the theoretical parameters outlined in this thesis. Despite significant developments in social theory in the 1980s and 1990s, there have been few attempts accordingly to update theories of strike action. One of the objectives of this thesis has been to attempt such an update. It is hoped that the constructs developed will shed light on a widely prevalent form of social conflict, assist in the analysis of future outbreaks, and enable the identification of those situations where a high propensity to engage in strike action may exist.

The majority of South African public schools are not performing well and this is particularly true of the schools in the Eastern Cape Province. Many factors including teacher union strikes contributed to this situation. Teachers’ unions went on strike without considering the rights of learners. The aim of this research was to determine the extent to which teachers’ unionized strikes influence the quality of teaching and learning at selected high schools of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape Province and to determine ways in which the teacher unions can also protect the rights of learners to achieve quality education in these selected high schools. The research consists of a study of relevant literature, followed by a qualitative research design. The sample group consisted of Grade 12 teachers, deputy principals and site stewards from four high schools in the Port Elizabeth District. The researcher trusts that her understanding as presented in the research findings and recommendations will benefit not only herself but will empower all the teacher unions’ members and learners coping with the stress of teaching and learning at times of strikes.

The Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 brought a number of changes in the labour relations environment from its inception on 11 November 1996. The Act codified Industrial Court decisions that were already established under the strike-law jurisprudence from the Labour Relations Act 28 of 1956. These general changes to the law also impact on the strike-law regime. The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the contributions made by the Labour Courts1 in developing strike law from the inception of the Act. The Labour Courts have made a number of decisions that have helped in clarifying the provisions of the Act. One should hasten to say that this has never been a smooth process by the courts. It will further be shown in this paper that some of the court decisions were not well accepted in the light of other considerations, such as the Constitution and the previous Industrial Court decisions. On some occasions the Constitutional Court had to intervene in order to clarify the intention of the legislature. For the purpose of effectively dealing with this topic, I shall briefly give the historical context of strike law in the form of common-law position, and the strike-law position before the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. I shall then endeavour to identify the legislative provision of the Act when it comes to strike-law provisions, at the same time identifying the important court decisions that were made.