scholarly journals The Impact of the Labour Relations Act on Minority Trade Unions: A South African Perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 284
Author(s):  
Johan Kruger ◽  
Clarence Itumeleng Tshoose
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
South African ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Freedom Of Association ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Labour Standards ◽  
International Labour Standards ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

The advent of the new political dispensation in 1994 heralded the coming of a new labour dispensation. Labour relations and labour policies changed significantly from that which prevailed under the previous government. The review of the labour legislation framework was at that stage a priority for the new government, with specific focus on the review of the collective bargaining dispensation. The abuse of trade unions under the previous government gave rise to a unique entrenchment of labour rights in the Constitution. The drafters thereof were determined to avoid a repetition of this abuse after 1994. Section 23 of the Constitution goes to great lengths to protect, amongst others, the right to form and join a trade union, the right of every trade union to organise and the right of every trade union to engage in collective bargaining. In furtherance of section 23(5) of the Constitution, the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 was promulgated. One of the most significant changes of the LRA was that it now provided for legislated organisational rights. Commentators have often viewed the LRA as favouring larger unions and as conferring clear advantages on unions with majority support at the establishment or industry level.  It is within this context that this article examines the impact of section 18 of the LRA on the constitutionally entrenched right of every person to freedom of association, the right of every trade union to engage in collective bargaining, and the right of every trade union to organise. Furthermore, this article explores the justifiability of the impact of section 18 on minority trade unions in terms of international labour standards and the Constitution. In part one the article examines the concept of majoritarianism, pluralism and industrial unionism in the context of South African Labour market. Part two deals with the impact of section 18 of the LRA on minority Trade Unions. Whilst part three explores the concept of workplace democracy. Part five investigates the applicability of international labour standards in the context of the right to freedom of association. Part four ends up with conclusion and recommendations on the impact of section 18 of the LRA.

scholarly journals DETERMINING THE THRESHOLD FOR ORGANIZATIONAL RIGHTS: THE LEGAL QUAGMIRE FACING MINORITY UNIONS RESOLVED – South African Post Office v Commissioner Nowosenetz No (2013) 2 BLLR 216 (LC)

Obiter ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Clarence Tshoose
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
South African ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Post Office ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Industry Level ◽  
Pluralistic Approach ◽  
The Right ◽  
Conditions Of Employment

The issue of organizational rights facing minority unions has been a quagmire since the advent of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995(hereinafter “the LRA”). This quagmire exists, notwithstanding the fact that the Constitution affords every trade union the right to engage in collective bargaining (s 23 of the Constitution, 1996). The acquisition of organizational rights by trade unions plays a crucial rolein as far as collective bargaining is concerned. It is through collective bargaining that unions are able to negotiate with employers regarding the terms and conditions of employment. Commentators have often viewed the LRA as favouring larger unions and as conferring clear advantages on unions with majority support at the industry level. Chapter III of the LRA regulates collective bargaining. Whereas this chapterostensibly promotes a pluralistic approach to organizational rights it is unequivocally biased towards majoritarianism. This is the case despite minority trade unions fulfilling an important role in the current labour system especially when it comes to the balance of powerin the employment arena. In light of the above, the legal quagmire faced by the minority unions in the quest for acquiring organisation rights in terms of the relevant provisions of the LRA is clearly illustrated by the decision in South African Post Office v Commissioner Nowosenetz No ((2013) 2 BLLR 216 (LC) (hereinafter “ the South African Post Office case”)).

Internationalisation of Labour Law: The Lesotho Experience

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kananelo Mosito
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
International Labour Organization ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Labour Standards ◽  
International Labour Standards ◽  
The Right

This article considers Lesotho’s labour laws in the light of the country’s obligations under international labour standards. It assesses the extent to which the international labour standards have had an impact on the development of labour law in Lesotho. It argues that Lesotho’s various Acts perpetuate the country’s non-compliance with International Labour Organization standards as significant aspects of the Acts still undermine workers’ rights. It contends that Lesotho still has a long way to go towards fulfilling the expectations of the International Labour Organization. After noting the various labour-law concepts in the international labour standards which have had an impact on Lesotho law and reviewing the sources of Lesotho’s obligations to respect the various workers’ rights, the article focuses on the workers’ rights to join trade union organisations, the promotion of free and voluntary collective bargaining and the right to strike. The article concludes that reforms are needed to internationalise Lesotho’s labour law further, in line with International Labour Organization requirements, so that workers’ rights are protected.

scholarly journals Limiting Organisational Rights of Minority Unions: POPCRU v Ledwaba 2013 11 BLLR 1137 (LC)

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 2227
Author(s):  
Tamara Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Fundamental Principle ◽  
Collective Agreement ◽  
Freedom Of Association ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Collective Agreements ◽  
Legislative Model ◽  
The Right

The Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 unequivocally promotes the policy choice of majoritarianism, in furtherance of orderly collective bargaining and the democratisation of the workplace. The majoritarian model aims to minimise the proliferation of trade unions in a single workplace and to encourage the system of a representative trade union.Section 18(1) of the Labour Relations Act enables majority unions to enter into collective agreements setting thresholds of representivity for the granting of access, stop-order and trade-union leave rights to minority unions. In furtherance of the majoritarian framework, collective agreements concluded between majority unions and employers can be extended to non-parties to the agreement in terms of section 23(1)(d) of the Labour Relations Act provided specified requirements are satisfied. In Police & Prisons Civil Rights Union v Ledwaba 2013 11 BLLR 1137 (LC) (POPCRU) the Labour Court was required to consider if the collective agreements concluded between the employer and the majority union could be relied upon to prohibit the minority union from securing organisational rights. In so doing, the Labour Court had to reconcile the fundamental principle of freedom of association and the right to fair labour practices (to organise and engage in unfettered collective bargaining) within the context of the majoritarian framework. The Labour Court in POPCRU held that the collective agreement concluded with the majority union must have preference over the organisational rights of minority unions, in keeping with the principle of collective bargaining hierarchy and the legislative framework. This case note argues that, while the finding of the labour court in POPCRU is correct on the facts and is in keeping with the principle of majoritarianism, the legislative model may no longer be suitable within the context of the current socio-economic and political landscape. Strike violence, loss of confidence in existing bargaining structures, and the alienation of vulnerable employees from majority unions has resulted in minority unions taking up the cudgels of frustrated and disempowered employees, as witnessed in the Marikana experience. The note suggests that in the light of the changing dynamics of the collective bargaining environment, it may be time to revisit the majoritarian model.

scholarly journals A PERSPECTIVE ON CLOSED SHOP AGREEMENTS THROUGH CORRELATIVE RIGHTS

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Adriaan Norval
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Freedom Of Association ◽  
Union Security ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Collective Agreements ◽  
Generic Term ◽  
The Right

Section 26 of the Labour Relations Act gives employers and employers’ organisations the power to conclude closed shop agreements through collective agreements with representative trade unions. The closed shop agreement is known as a union security agreement which has been defined as: [a] generic term for an agreement between an employer and a union or unions in terms of which union membership or, alternatively, payment of union subscription is a condition of employment for all employees. Therefore employees are forced to join the representative trade union subject to the conditions being met in section 26(3) of the Labour Relations Act. This has resulted in a lot of debate on whether closed shop agreements are violating the right to freedom of association, or simply limiting it. This article takes the debate further by not only looking at the right to associate, but also looking at this right as a correlative right because ‘freedom of association buttresses and makes good the promise of a variety of other rights.’ Rights such as labour relations rights and political rights rely on the right to associate. Their dependence on the right to associate means that they have to be looked at when determining if closed shop agreements violate or limit the right to associate.

Law and the Culture of Capital: A Critical Perspective on Labour’s Right to Associate in Developing Societies

2002 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. A. Visano ◽  
Nicholas Adete Bastine
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Development ◽  
Law And Economics ◽  
Complex Form ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Legal Narratives ◽  
Labour Standards ◽  
International Obligations ◽  
Developing Societies ◽  
International Labour Standards ◽  
The Impact

Informed by critical theory, this paper focuses on the dialectical interplay between law and economics evident in the practices and policies of the International Labour Organization (ILO). It is argued, first, that governments do not comply with international labour standards because of the inherent weaknesses of the ILO as the source and enforcer of international obligations. Second, the parochial politicization of rights defers to the arrogance of ignorance. Third, developing societies are overwhelmingly preoccupied with socioeconomic development. In exploring the impact of ILO practices on developing societies within the policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), this paper asks the following questions: to what extent does capital form and inform the law in relation to conflicting economic narratives of development and nationhood? How and why does the ILO talk up legal narratives of regulation and contest? How does law hegemonize capital integration? How does law symbolically function to mediate labour relations meanings and manipulate the inaction of civil society? Within the larger structure of “market forces,” the commodity of law is a complex form of social communication that diverts attention away from the political impact of predatory economies.

scholarly journals The "Double-edged Sword" of Institutional Power: COSATU, Neo-liberalisation and the Right to Strike

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carin Runciman
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
The South ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Institutional Power ◽  
Power Resources ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
The Right

On 1 January 2019 amendments to the Labour Relations Act came into force that significantly altered and curtailed the right to protected strike action in South Africa. Internationally, the right to strike has been eroded in recent years with many countries adopting legal provisions that violate the International Labour Organization’s principles. Comparatively, the rights of South African workers to go on protected strikes remain better than many other places in the world, a reflection of the militant history of the South African labour movement. But the erosion of these rights, with the active support of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, should be a cause for concern for activists and labour scholars in South Africa and beyond. This article develops the Power Resources Approach to consider how union institutional power has entrenched neo-liberalism in South Africa. Grounding the analysis of institutional power within the analytical framework of corporatism allows this article to develop an analysis of institutional power that is attentive to class forces. This provides an avenue for understanding the “double-edged sword” of institutional power in the South African context in order to comprehend when and under what circumstances trade unions advance and defend the interests of the working class and when they defend those of capital.  KEY WORDS: labour; neo-liberalism; institutional power; corporatism; South Africa

Guida alla lettura della recente legge di riforma della democrazia sindacale in Francia: piena compatibilitŕ fra regolamentazione della contrattazione collettiva e principio del pluralismo sindacale

2009 ◽  
pp. 365-381
Author(s):  
Ilario Alvino
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
The Other ◽  
Work Place ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Freedom Of Association ◽  
The One

- The Author reviews the new French Law n. 2008-789, which introduces new considerable elements concerning the representativity of trade unions, the conditions of a regular collective bargaining, the establishment of specific structures of workers' representatives at the work place. On the one hand, the Author takes into consideration the differences between the Italian legal system and the French one, on the other hand, the reform process that brought into the introduction of new rules.Key words: France; Trade Union; Representativity; Collective bargaining; Freedom of association; Social dialogue.Parole chiave: Francia; sindacato; rappresentativitŕ; contratto collettivo; libertŕ sindacale; dialogo sociale.

scholarly journals The Protection of the Worker`s Right to Freedom of Association: the ECtHR Case-Law

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-185
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Freedom Of Association ◽  
Collective Redress ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Right ◽  
Economic Well Being

The article is devoted to the study of the freedom of association of workers as an important element of the mechanism of the protection of labour rights, and also as a tool for effective social dialogue aimed at improving working conditions and ensuring the socio-economic well-being of workers. It is established that although the right to form and join trade unions under the ECHR is part of the right to freedom of association, its content is quite broad, as it is determined by the purpose of such association, which is to protect the interests of workers. Therefore, a wide range of collective redress, including the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike, are now an integral part of the right of workers to form or join trade unions. The study pays special attention to the analysis of the case-law of the ECtHR, which allowed the author to identify key elements of the content of the right of employees to association and determine the positive and negative obligations of the state that are necessary to ensure its effectiveness and protection. Taking this analysis into account and examining the national case-law, gaps in the legal regulation of freedom of association of workers in Ukraine have been identified, and proposals for their elimination have been made. Keywords: freedom of association; trade union; protection against discrimination; strike; collective bargaining; case-law of the ECtHR

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