KEY CHALLENGES FACING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN SOUTH AFRICA AND THOUGHTS ON ADDRESSING THEM

PRESENTATION TOUNIVERSITY OF WITWATERSRAND

LLM CLASS OF 2015 3 1 S T O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5

TYPICAL BARGAINING PROCESS

EXCHANGINGDEMANDS

NEGOTIATION MEETINGS

DISPUTE REFERRAL

INDUSTRIAL ACTION

MANDATING

COLLECTIVEAGREEMENT

EMPLOYERS

TRADE UNIONS

STATUTORYCONCILIATION

OBTAINING MANDATES

DEADLOCK

LENGTHY WAGE NEGOTIATION PROCESSES

PROTRACTED INDUSTRIAL ACTION

VIOLENCE AND INTIMIDATION INCREASING LEGAL AND

SOCIETAL CHALLENGES TO NEGOTIATED OUTCOMES

ESCALATING LABOUR MARKET CONFLICT

EXTREME CONSEQUENCES

SYMPTOMS OF DYSFUNCTIONALITY

SOURCES OF DYSFUNCTIONALITY

ENVIRONMENTRELATED

BUSINESSRELATED

LABOURRELATED

RELATIONSHIP AND PROCESS

RELATED

ABSENCE OF AN

AGREED STANDARD TO INFORM

WAGE DEMANDS

AND OFFERS

KEY CHALLENGES

REJECTION OF

BARGAINING

OUTCOMES

OVER-RELIANCE ON LEGAL

AND STATUTORY MEASURES

INEFFECTIVE

INTERACTION AND

NEGOTIATION

PROCESSES

STAKEHOLDER

RELATIONAL DYNAMICS

VIOLENCE AND

INTIMIDATION

ASSOCIATED WITH

INDUSTRIAL ACTION

GROWING NETWORK

OF FINANCIAL DEPENDEN

CE

MERGING OF

WORKPLACE AND

SOCIO-ECONOMIC

ISSUES

LOW TRADE UNION

DENSITY

THOUGHTS ON ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGES

Accelerate

delivery on the

social wage –

education, health

services, social

development,

public transport,

housing and local

amenities

Move towards a

collective bargaining

construct predicated on

inclusivity

Agree on a

standard to inform

wage demands

and offers at

national, sectoral

or enterprise level.

Address the

violence and

intimidation

problem holistically

Augment statutory

dispute resolution

framework to

include alternatives to

industrial action

e.g. Interest

Arbitration

Overhaul bargaining

paradigm and

practice

What else?