Thesis (MTech (Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2009 / The purpose of this study was to determine the post level I CS-educators' knowledge of their rights and duties in respect of unfair labour practice. The specific aim was to determine educators' knowledge of unfair labour practices in terms of the literature study. The method of research was based on interviews with post level I CS-educators in rural primary schools. The interviews consisted of structured questions of which the format as well as the order was determined beforehand. No coaching was given to respondents because it may have compromised their answers. The sample consists often educators (five males and five females) who teach in rural schools. In this way a fair opportunity was granted to both groups to be included in the sample. The researcher is of the opinion that this is a reasonable representation of the total sub population. From the empirical research it was evident that educators in rural schools had a vague knowledge of unfair labour practices. Shortcomings that were apparent from this study was addressed, recommendations were made, as well as possible future research on related topics was discussed.

This article deals with the South African law relating to promotions. As promotion disputes mostly arise as alleged unfair labour practices, a short discussion on how the concept of an unfair labour practice developed in South Africa is undertaken. In this regard the common law is studied in order to see whether it makes provision for protection of employees subjected to unfair labour practices relating to promotions. Through this study one soon realises that the common law is in fact inadequate to deal with unfair labour practices relating to promotions, and thus an enquiry into various legislative provisions are undertaken. The impact of the all-important Wiehahn Commission of Enquiry, established in 1979, is also briefly discussed. In this article an attempt is made to define the term ‘promotion’. In this regard reference is made to some cases adjudicated upon by the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (the “CCMA”). The cases referred to seem to favour the view that when one is defining the term ‘promotion’, regard must be had to the employment relationship between the employer and the employee, as well as the nature of the employee’s current work in relation to the work applied for, in order to establish whether in fact a promotion has taken place. It is necessary to consider what unfair conduct is defined as in the context of promotions. It seems that managerial prerogative is at the center of the enquiry into unfair conduct of the employer. Further to the analysis of unfair conduct, various principles that govern both procedural and substantive unfairness are considered. These principles are dealt with separately with reference to case law. Lastly the dispute resolution mechanisms are considered and a brief discussion on remedies is undertaken. The remedies are discussed with reference to case law, as well as the provisions of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 as amended by the Labour Relations Amendment Act 12 of 2002. The broad headings of this article are accordingly unfair labour practices, definition of promotions, unfair conduct of the employer, onus of proof and remedies. It is concluded with the proposition that once an employer has set policies and procedures in place in dealing with promotions, then such an employer should stick to those policies and procedures within the context of the law, as well as within the percepts of the vague and nebulous term of ‘fairness’. Should the employer fail to do so, the majority of cases indicate that such an employer will be guilty of an unfair labour practice relating to promotion.

The history of constructive dismissals in South Africa imitated from the English law in 1986, when an employee successfully challenged the employer on this particular concept after an incident relating a forced resignation. From the literature it is clear that constructive dismissal, as we know it today, originated from our English counterparts. Being a relatively new concept, the South African labour laws caught on at a rapid pace. The leading case on which the South African authors leaned towards was the English case of Woods v WM Car Services (Peterborough). In South Africa constructive dismissals were given statutory force in unfair dismissal law and is defined as the coerced or forced termination of a contract of employment resultant in from the conduct of the employer. There are many forms in which constructive dismissals would postulate that could justify an employee to lay claim to constructive dismissal. Examples thereof are the amendment of the contract of employment, rude language and sexual harassment. It is eminent that certain elements should be present before an employee would have reasonable prospects of succeeding with such a claim. Constructive dismissal comes into the equation when an employer behaves in such a manner that eventually and ultimately leads to the employee, being the receiving party, in the employment relationship, to terminate the employment contract. This termination must be the direct result of the conduct of the employer that irreparably frustrated the relationship and made it impossible for the employee to remain in the service of the employer in question. It appears that the courts have taken a firm stance on coerced or forced resignation, in its various forms tantamount to breach of contact, that any sufficiently unreasonable conduct by an employer may justify that the employee to terminate services and lay claim to the fact that he had been constructively dismissed. It needs to be mentioned that the fact that the mere fact that the employer acted in an unreasonable manner would not suffice and it is up to the employee to prove how the conduct of the employer justified the employee to leave and claim that the employer’s conduct resulted in a material or fundamental beach of the employment contract. In dealing with the contingency of the concept of constructive dismissals it has been expressly provided for in numerous systems of labour law. As is seen herein, a constructive dismissal consists in the termination of the employment contract by reason of the employee’s rather than the employer’s own immediate act. The act of the employee is precipitated by earlier conduct on the part of the employer, which conduct may or may not be justified. Various authors and academics endeavoured to defined constructive dismissal and all had the same or at least some of the elements present, to justify constructive dismissal. The most glaring element being the termination of employment as a result of the any conduct that is tantamount to a breach going to the root of the relationship by the employer, that frustrated the relationship between the employer and the employee and rendered it irreparable. The employee resigns or repudiates the employment contract as a result of the employer normally not leaving the employee any other option but to resign. This can also be termed as coerced or forced resignations and are commonly better known as “constructive dismissal”. The employee is deemed to have been dismissed, even though it is the employee who terminated the employment contract. The most important element to mention is the employee terminated the employment contract, ie resigned yet this is regarded as a dismissal, it is however for the employee to first lay a claim at the proper authority and the employee must prove his / her allegation before it can be a constructive dismissal. As will become clear, that the onus of proof is on the employee to show that the termination of employment resulted from the conduct of the employer. Equally true as in all cases of constructive dismissal, including cases of sexual harassment, being a ground for constructive dismissal, the employee must prove that to remain in service would have been unbearable and intolerable. Sexual harassment is one of the most difficult forms of constructive dismissals, in many cases there are no witnesses and the employee either “suffers in silence or opt to place her dignity at stake to prove her case. It seems as though the test is to determine if the employer’s conduct evinced a deliberate and oppressive intention to have the employment terminated and left the employee with only one option that of resignation to protect her interests. Employees have a right to seek statutory relief and needs to be protected. If a coerced or forced resignation had taken place irrespective whether the employee resigned or not. It is against this back drop that constructive dismissals was given legality and are now recognized as one of the four forms of dismissals in terms of the Act.

In this treatise the South African law relating to unfair discrimination is discussed. The development is traced from the previous dispensation and the few pronouncements of the Industrial Court on discrimination in employment. Thereafter the actual provisions in the law presently applicable, including the Constitution is considered. With reference to leading cases the issue of positive discrimination by adopting affirmative action measures is evaluated and reference is made to other defences like inherent requirements for the job and a general fairness defence. The conclusion is reached that South African law is developing to give effect to the notion of substantive equality with a view to eradicate the systematic discrimination of the past.

The trademark guarantees market transparency and protecting clear communicative channel between innovative product and consumer rather than rewarding creators or creating direct incentives for the inventor like in Intellectual Property and Patent. However, unfair advantages of the trademark are rising to new challenges because of complex average consumer behaviour. Nevertheless extended protections of the trademark can also create obstacles to innovation and market competition. Therefore, to understand the unfair advantages and associated challenges in the trademark in this thesis the research focus is kept on unfair advantages linked with likelihood of confusion and dilution and its possible limitations, and finally problem with existing approach to determine the unfair advantages.

La théorie de la concurrence déloyale n'a cessé d'évoluer en droit français. A l'origine, le droit français de la concurrence déloyale visait à protéger les intérêts individuels des concurrents, et ce en stigmatisant les moyens déloyaux par lesquels les agents économiques cherchaient à détourner la clientèle de leurs rivaux. Depuis quelques années, cette théorie subit des transformations très importantes. Aujourd'hui, elle a dépassé son seul et unique objectif, qui lui avait été reconnu depuis fort longtemps. En effet, elle ne vise plus uniquement la protection de la clientèle de la victime de l'acte déloyal, mais s'intéresse aussi aux atteintes à la capacité concurrentielle des autres opérateurs. Dès lors, la concurrence déloyale dans sa nouvelle conception tend à réguler le comportement objectif de tous les opérateurs sur le marché, qu'ils soient ou non concurrents aux fins de rétablir l'égalité affectée dans les moyens de concurrence. Malgré son introduction en droit jordanien par la loi de la concurrence déloyale n° 15 de l'année 2000, la théorie de la concurrence déloyale reste, selon sa compréhension stricte de la part de la doctrine jordanienne, alimentée par la présence de la formule de l'article 2 de la loi de la concurrence déloyale, enfermée dans une conception traditionnelle sans aucune évolution. Toutefois, l'unité du critère de la déloyauté du comportement fautif en droit français et en droit jordanien permet un rapprochement très utile entre les deux droits, de telle sorte que le droit jordanien pourrait, à son tour, suivre les évolutions constatées en droit français. Ainsi, la théorie de la concurrence déloyale pourrait être aménagée selon de nouveaux contours permettant d'adopter les solutions récentes acquises en droit français. / At the outset, the theory of unfair competition In French law was devoted to penalizing professionals who used means which were contrary to the honest commercial customs to lure away their competitor's customers. Over several years, this theory has undergone significant changes. Today, it no longer aims sloley at the protection of the clientele of the victim of unfair competition but also the smooth functioning of the market by regulating the behavior of all the economic operators, whether competitors or not, to ensure equality in competitive practices. Despite its introduction in Jordanian law by the law of unfair competition No. 15 of 2000, the theory of unfair competition remains, according to its strict understanding by the Jordanian doctrine fueled by the present formula of Article 2 of this law, to be confined in a conservative traditional construct. However, the uniformity of the test of unfairness regarding tortious behaviour under the French and Jordanian laws, provides a useful harmonised approach between the two laws, in a way that would allow the Jordanian law to follow the changing regulations intitiated by the French law. Thus, the theory of unfair competition could be modified in new contexts to allow the adoption of new solutions provided by the French law.

The once flourishing small-scale poultry industry in Ghana has over the past two decades undergone a severe deterioration as a result of fortunes that has diverted the industry from near self-sufficiency in the early 1990s to a net importer of poultry products. Since the later part of 1990s the Ghana market has followed a steep and uncontrolled influx of cheap poultry meat from subsidized poultry producers from advanced countries (Osei, unpublished) including USA and EU, not to mention countries such as Brazil and Canada. A multiplicity of factors have accounted for the decline and mortalities of the domestic poultry industry. These include unfair competition from subsidized poultry producers from advanced countries, unfavourable and indifferent government policy direction, escalating costs of production, inefficient methods of production, lack of funds and credit, inadequate knowledge in poultry management, socio-cultural factors, lack of information needs on the part of small-scale poultry farmers, inadequate access to market, lack of processing facilities, and high rates of perishability. Therefore, the present study examines the factors that affect the growth of the small agribusiness in Ghana, focusing mainly on the small-scale poultry industry. The purpose of the study is to provide guidelines and recommendations for improving poultry farming at the level of small-scale poultry farmers in Ghana through the organized social movement (new generation cooperative movement). The study further seeks to solicit government interventions through political arguments so as to sustain and strengthen the failing small-scale poultry industry in Ghana. The purpose of the organized social movement is to bundle competencies and resources that are more valuable in joint effort than when kept separate by the small-scale poultry farmers in racing against competitors who are driving them out of business. This is due to an on-going severe competition as a result of unprotected market and political bias of trade liberalization, structural adjustment policies and deregulations on the part of the government. A sample of 120 poultry farmers was selected by a stratified random sampling approach. This was followed by 75 stakeholders through a snowball approach and data was collected by using a semi-structured interviews. The findings of the study shows that the organized social movement (SM) of small-scale poultry farmers, provision of government subsidies, placing a ban or increase tariffs on imports of poultry meat, access to cheap loans, provision of infrastructure, access to incentives and awards, training and education of poultry farmers, advertising campaign, and dissemination of information, had positive and significant impact on the competitiveness and growth of the small-scale poultry industry.

This treatise considers the promotion process in the workplace and focuses on the meaning of promotion and the provisions of the Labour Relations Act, 66 of 19951 (Hereinafter referred to as the LRA) relating to promotion. It also considers unfair labour practices from an employee’s perspective. Chapter 2 of this treatise discusses the processes employers should follow when dealing with promotions. Neither the LRA nor the Constitution provides employees with a right to be promoted. However, the Constitution2 provides that all workers have the right to fair labour practices. The concept of unfair labour practices was introduced in South Africa in 1979 following the recommendations of the Wiehahn Commission. For a long time in South Africa the concept of unfair labour practice was defined in broad terms and included unprotected strikes and lockouts. It was left to the Industrial Court to determine conduct which constituted an unfair labour practice. The promulgation of LRA (which took effect in 1996) provided a clear definition of what constitute unfair labour practice in the workplace. The LRA provided a closed list of practices which constitute an unfair labour practice which provided as follows: “(a) unfair conduct by the employer relating to the promotion, demotion, probation (excluding disputes about dismissals for a reason relating to probation) or training of an employee or relating to the provision of benefits to an employee; (b) unfair suspension of an employee or any other unfair disciplinary action short of dismissal in respect of an employee; (c) a failure or refusal by an employer to reinstate or re-employ a former employee in terms of any agreement; and (d) an occupational detriment, other than dismissal, in contravention of the Protected Disclosures Act, 2000 (Act No. 26 of 2000), on account of the employee having made a protected disclosure defined in that Act.”The LRA brought about significant changes including the exemption of trade unions from committing unfair labour practice to the employers as it was the position under the old Act. There are conflicting views amongst employers and employees as well as labour law experts regarding the determination of the remedies available to applicants when unfairness has been proven in promotion disputes. It is has been observed that many awards has been successfully reviewed by employers, particularly awards that involves protective promotion. Chapter one will be an introduction regarding unfair labour practice, the originality of the concept and the changes and developments the concept has gone through. Chapter two will investigate the meaning of promotion in the workplace. This chapter will focus on the definition of promotion. Elements that constitute promotion will also be addressed. Chapter three considers the provisions of the LRA relating to unfair labour practice: promotion. However, the focus will be narrowed down from the definition of unfair labour practice to the issue of promotion as it is central to the study. Chapter four will examine the manner in which the applicants are differentiated. Furthermore, this chapter will also address the issue of whether the internal applicant should be given preference on the basis that he or she has been working in the organisation but not in the advertised post. Chapter five discusses the importance of substantive and procedural fairness in promotion processes. Chapter six examine the appropriate remedies for aggrieved applicants during the promotion process. A disappointed candidate has a statutory right to approach the relevant bargaining council to seek recourse with regard to the matter. The dispute must be referred to the CCMA within 90 days by the aggrieved applicant.

Pas de résumé / Doctorat en droit / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The diploma thesis concentrates on the topic of trademarks in the context of the economic competition. The first part of the thesis is devoted to the general perspective on the trademarks and to the national and international legislation regulating the usage of trademarks. The second part of the thesis analyses the function and usage the trademarks in the context of the economic competition. The thesis is divided into 6 chapters. The first chapter focuses on the definition of the institute of a trademark and on its position in the system of intellectual property law. In addition, it provides an insight into the primary sources related to trademarks including the legislative norms and case-law. Moreover, the first chapter contains also a typological and functional classification of the trademarks and outlines the absolute and relative reasons for refusal to register a trademark and therefore for the denial to provide legal protection of this institute. The conclusion of the chapter is devoted to the various forms of expiry of the trademarks such as cancellation or expiration. Chapter two concentrates on the impact of the legal institute of a trademark. In particular, it focuses on the rights and duties of the owner of a trademark including the limitations of the intellectual property law imbued in a...