M.Comm. / With the adoption of the 1995 Labour Relations Act (LRA) and the creation of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), expectations ran high that the era of workplace conflict that had characterised previous labour dispensation would come to an end. The reality, however, is that parties have abdicated their responsibility in dispute-resolution, and have transferred this responsibility to the CCMA and Bargaining Councils. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the perceptions of users of the current model with regard to its effectiveness, flaws and challenges. Based on the data received, this study presents a case for a new approach to discouraging disputes from being taken beyond the level of the workplace. The following research questions were formulated: Given the prevailing lack of ownership by parties over dispute-resolution and the resultant rise in case load and costs, what alternative strategies could be adopted? With the introduction of such new strategies, what dispute resolution model would be appropriate to enable the parties to focus on the core issues and also reduce costs? These questions are based on the set of main problems and sub-problems. The main problems are the low dispute-resolution/settlement rate (the conciliation stage being a mere formality), even when arbitration takes place; and the lack of ownership for dispute prevention by line managers and organised labour. In collecting data I followed the triangulation approach which combined both qualitative and quantitative research. During the qualitative stage, I collected data by using unstructured interviews and audio-recording the interviews with the Secretary of the PHSDSBC. I used quantitative methods to distribute participants’ agenda points and to record the numbers returned. The same method was used to analyse the patterns and themes emerging from data collected. Forty-nine negotiators, shop stewards, human resource managers across the nine provinces, and staff in the office of the Secretary of the PHSDSBC, were selected. Because participants in the study were distributed over a wide area, my level of physical contact with them was restricted to the normal business schedules of the Bargaining Council, during teambuilding exercises, and during Employer Caucus meetings. As a participant in these meetings, I was able to adopt an auto-ethnographic stance. I analysed the data, using graphical depictions, and categorised it into thoughts and later into themes. The findings indicate that the current dispute-resolution system model, being reactive in its application, is time-consuming for the both employee and the employer.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:6641 |
| Date | 24 February 2010 |
| Creators | Marule, Thabang Eniel |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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