Magister Commercii - MCom / Workers' right to strike is embedded in the South African Constitution and this right generally reflects a sign of fairness. Strike activities form a vital part of collective bargaining and the supremacy liaison between employers and employees would be severely ruined if workers are not entitled the right to strike. Ever since the right to strike was documented in the South African Constitution, strike actions have been a collective occurrence in the country. Reasons for strikes in South Africa are multi-layered and their effects are harmfully disastrous. Workers are on strikes due to various reasons such as low pay, inequality, and unemployment as a result of union conflicts and the inequitable degree of labour relations. However, strikes would lead to various problems in the economy, such as reduced production, scaring off investors, labour replaced by capital, etc. This study first defines the various key concepts relating to industrial action, before reviewing the theories on strikes as well as the results of past local and empirical studies. The study moves on to use the Department of Labour's 2003-2014 Industrial Action Report data to provide descriptive statistics on strike activities in 1999-2014 by broad industry categories (examining the number of strikes, work hours lost, work days lost, time-loss ratios, principle causes of strikes, most active trade unions involved in strikes), before using a static approach to estimate the value of total production foregone as well as the value foregone as a proportion of gross value added (GVA) by industry in each year as a result of strikes. Finally, the older 1970-1998 strikes data from the International Labour Organization (ILO) is ‘merged’ with the abovementioned 1999-2014 data, to examine the econometric relationship between strikes and business cycles, and it is found that strikes are procyclical.

The society in which we live is economically based and the greater part of our activities centres in the economy. Within this context, the Department of Trade and Industry recognized that small business development was an important area for government intervention. A long process of highlighting the importance of this sector and creating the right environment in which small businesses could grow and flourish was initiated at the level of policy and legislation. In the Labour Relations field, an attempt at achieving some measure of certainty in previously disputed areas was made through the passing of the Labour Relations Act of 1995. This study aims at exploring the effects of this Act on the growth and development of the small business sector in the Nelson Mandela Metropole. In fulfilling this aim, the focus was restricted to factors such as dismissal of workers, strikes and lock-outs, freedom of association and dispute resolution. The theory pertaining to Labour Legislation and small business development was obtained by means of conducting a comprehensive literature study. The literature study included all relevant perspectives on the Labour Relations Act and Government Policy on small businesses. From the study, a questionnaire was developed to test the impact of the Act on the growth and development of the small business sector in the Nelson Mandela Metropole. The empirical results, in general, indicated non-compliance with the Labour Relations Act and negative views on the value of the Act on the growth and development of the small business sector in the Nelson Mandela Metropole. From the literature study and the findings of the research questionnaire, it became apparent that: · A comprehensive audit of the small business sector in the Nelson Mandela Metropole is needed. The aim of the audit would be to review the current operations of the small business sector in the Metropole. This outcome will indicate the extent of understanding and compliance with the various aspects of the Labour Relations Act. · The acquisition of industrial relations knowledge and skills by owners and leaders in the sector is vital for the development of the sector. The Skills Development Act provides a funding framework for skills training that is relevant to a specific industry. The small business sector could benefit significantly from the provision of this piece of legislation. · A comprehensive support programme for SMME’s is a necessary prerequisite for the growth and development of the sector. The support system could include tax incentives, flexible labour legislation and training as indicated in the above paragraph.

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 purpose of the research was to test Walker's assertion that the human resource planning process of an organization is influenced by selected organizational characteristics, and to investigate Walker s typology for implementing and evaluating human resource planning systems. Chapter I introduces the research topic and provides a justification for the study. Chapter II describes the methodology and presents the findings. Chapter III analyzes the findings. The final chapter summarizes the findings and offers conclusions drawn from the research.

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.Phil. / A critical task in the management of human resources is the evaluation of employees. All organizations must face up to the challenge of how to evaluate, utilize and develop the skills and abilities of their employees to ensure that organizational goals are achieved, and also to ensure that individuals gain as much satisfaction as possible from their jobs while making effective contributions. The objective of performance evaluation is the following: • To identify management potential • To recognize performance through: promotion merit awards • To identify shortcomings and to rectify it • To establish training needs • To consider transfer/redeployment In order to succeed with this important management task, it is essential for any organization to have a performance evaluation system which can guarantee an objective, factual and reliable result.

M.Com. (Human Resource Management) / Studies clearly show that workers experience trauma when organizations rationalise. These traumatic experiences are found to be primarily due to the uncertainty of what will happen to workers and the impact rationalisation could have on their job security. This has led to the assumption that rationalisation is inevitably traumatic. This study is aimed at dispelling this assumption as a myth. The view is taken that human and organizational behavior is complex, in that a variety of interactions between management and workers is not only possible, but does in fact occur in organizations today. This study considers various approaches organizations follow in dealing with workers during a rationalisation program. This study also investigates the experiences of workers who have actually lost their jobs. The results indicate beyond doubt that the experiences of trauma associated with rationalisation programmes are strongly related to the approaches adopted by management during such programmeso Worker trauma is therefore not a condition of rationalisation, but rather the result of a particular approach followed by management. The results of this study could have a profound effect on how organizations approach rationalisation. The benefits of a reduction in industrial and legal action due the approach adopted by management during rationalisation, is obvious. What is less obvious, but possibly more important however, is the level of loyalty and work performance of those workers remaining in the service of the organization. Studies have demonstrated the devastating impact of an unsatisfactory approach followed by management during rationalisation, on the work performance and loyalty towards the company of remaining workers. In order to succeed or survive, organizations must continually adjust to an everchanging environment. This would no doubt include the need for an effective rationalisation program...

M.Ed. (Educational Management) / The aim of this research is to assess the management role of the principal of a state-aided school with regard to the management of general assistants employed by the governing body of such a school. To ensure efficient management, the principal must implement the principles of planning, organizing leadership and control in the process of managing general assistants. Planning should be aimed at reaching short-term goals while a more mechanistic and bureaucratic organizational structure will be more effective. Communication and interaction with general assistants are prerequisites for efficient leadership. Duties performed by general assistants must be continuously controlled to ensure that the activities are in line with the goals of the school. The principal is essentially a manager of human resources and therefore also a personnel manager. In respect of general assistants, labour unrest must be prevented. This task represents a new dimension of management for principals of state-aided schools where labour relations have become an important issue. As of 1 September 1988, the Labour Relations Act (Act 28 of 1956) is applicable to black general assistants employed at state-aided schools. Therefore the management of state-aided schools must take cognisance of the mechanisms for collective bargaining, namely, industrial councils, conciliation boards, mediation, arbitration and the Industrial Court. Collective bargaining takes place between an employer and a workers' union representing the employees.

D.Com. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Comm. (Business Management) / Trade unionism and trade unions activities in South Africa’s labour relations system and workplaces has a long history of racial segregation characterised by confrontation and antagonism between the employer (management) and trade unions in the workplaces. However, in the South African contemporary labour relations environment the emphasis is more on creation of constructive and cooperative relations between the employer (management) and trade unions in the workplace. The literature study cites managers’ attitudes towards trade unions as one of the factor that could facilitate genuine interaction and promote productive cooperative management – trade unions relations in the workplace. The objective of this study was to assist in identifying and understating managers’ attitudes towards workplace trade unionism in the workplace utilising a coal mining company as a case study. For the purpose of investigating managers’ attitudes towards trade unionism and trade unions in the workplace, a literature review was conducted and the self-administered questionnaire was utilised as the research instrument to collect the primary data about managers’ attitudes towards trade unionism and trade unions in the workplace. The findings of the study reveal that most of the respondents generally harbour positive attitudes towards trade unionism and trade unions in the workplace. Another significant research finding of the study is the identification and existence of four factors underlying managers’ attitudes towards trade unionism and trade unions in the workplace. The factors identified relates to the awareness and understanding of the concept trade unionism and trade unions in the workplace, operational aspects in terms of perceived destructive and constructive role and function of trade unions in the workplace and lastly, management – trade union cooperation and relationship building in the workplace. Recommendations of the study were presented that will assist in improving and entrenching managers’ positive attitudes towards trade unionism and trade unions in the workplace.