scholarly journals The new jurisdiction: the impact of the Labour Relations Act

1970 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
John Hughes

The new jurisdiction conferred on the Labour Court by Part IX of the Labour Relations Act 1987 has a number of facets. First, there has been a widening of the categories of worker who may use the procedure, not only under the 1987 Act but also by virtue of the State Sector Act 1988. Secondly, there have been substantial changes to the way in which the personal grievance procedure operates. Thirdly, the grounds upon which a personal grievance claim may now be brought have been expanded. Fourthly, the available remedies, whilst not substantially changed, have been "tidied up". The treatment of these changes in this paper will be selective. The procedural changes have been excellently covered in Mike Dawson's indispensable guide Handling Personal Grievances Under the Labour Relations Act 1987 (Canterbury Trade Unions Research and Training Group/UEA, 1988). I would like to take the opportunity to highlight what seem to me to be some of the more far-reaching changes and, in the course of the paper, touch only lightly on the distinctly "procedural" aspects of the changes since the Labour Relations Act 1987 carne into force. Surprisingly few decisions so far have turned on the new provisions. Most retread the familiar ground of unjustifiable dismissal.

Author(s):  
Janet Bedggood

This paper advances a Marxist critique to consider the way the position of women teachers in the state sector is being reproduced under the pressure of reform. lt analyses interviews with women teachers in the early childhood sector to evaluate their responses to questions over the impact of government reform in education on the nature of their work and their own activity in their unions to resist the reforms, against other evidence and opinion on the effects of state restructuring in education. The paper investigates whether women teachers see their struggles against the reforms as a struggle to overcome their own vulnerability as workers -particularly against traditional perceptions that their reaching was merely an extension of their domestic labour.


2001 ◽  
Vol 46 (S9) ◽  
pp. 131-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Lunn ◽  
Ann Day

Petitioning as a method of expressing grievances in British history was not peculiar to any particular set of individuals, but was widely used by all sections of society for a range of issues. Given its origins, however, it became ritualized as the means of labour negotiation for workers who were employed by the state, and, by the nineteenth century, by municipal authorities. This was before the institutionalization of trade unions and their recognition as representative agencies for industrial bargaining. One of these groups of workers in the state sector were naval dockyard employees, engaged in the construction, repair, and maintenance of British naval ships. For these workers, the nature of labour relations, and the importance of petitioning as an instrument of negotiation between employees and employer, was both complex and dynamic.


Author(s):  
Anthony R. Henderson ◽  
Sarah Palmer

This essay addresses the impact of industrialisation on the experience of work during the early 1800s. It presents the idea that industrial relations focused less on trade unions and more on broad labour/management contact and gave a new emphasis to the significance of the labour process. Also featured is a map of The Port of London in the 1830s, which is used as an example for evidence of change within the pre-industrial pattern of management/labour relations.


Author(s):  
Shushmita Chatterji Dutt

The impact of micro finance initiatives on poor (often illiterate) women is discussed in this paper. The way women begin to understand market forces and negotiate the best terms for themselves is examined. This seems to link to increasing confidence, a stronger voice and finally negotiating a space for themselves. It is observed that if planned empowerment inputs of any type are also provided, the gains are exponential and go much deeper. This paper draws examples from three initiatives: 1. A micro finance scheme for women introduced in one district of the state of Rajasthan, India; 2. An initiative that was introduced as a subsidiary activity for an agricultural intensification scheme supported by IFAD in four districts of Bangladesh; 3. The profile of one woman in the state of Chhattisgarh, India who has worked with the State Administration to change her own life and that of many other women.


2007 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-36
Author(s):  
R. Van Der Walt

Legislation such as the Labour Relations No 66 of 1995 and the Promotion of Access to Information Act No 2 of 2000 has paved the way for creation of a culture of un-coerced disclosure of information in South African organisations. The article reviews progress in respect of information disclosure in South Africa and other countries and discusses the effects of the LRA in regard to disclosure of information to trade unions and workplace forums. It then describes a study conducted by the author and discusses the findings. It concludes with pointing out certain weaknesses in the disclosure process and exhorts managements and the trade unions to work together to improve this important tool for achieving success in organisations and enhancing industrial democracy.


2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 397-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermes Augusto Costa

Twenty five years after Portuguese EU accession, the labour market in general and the trade unions in particular are faced with severely regressive social measures that undermine past expectations of progress towards the achievement of the Social Europe project in Portugal. Thus, on the one hand, this article identifies some of the ambitions and possibilities earlier opened up for the Portuguese labour market, as well as trade union attitudes to European integration. It is argued, on the other hand, that, in the context of the economic crisis and the austerity measures to which Portugal is subjected, the sense of Portugal’s backwardness in relation to the ‘European project’ has become more acute. The article accordingly focuses on and examines some of the austerity measures and certain controversial issues associated with them. In a final section, the impact of austerity on labour relations and the reactions of social partners, in particular the trade unions, are analysed.


Management ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-84
Author(s):  
Anna Drab-Kurowska

Summary State intervention in the context of creative industries The aim of this article is to present the impact of state intervention on the development of the creative sector. The article attempts to identify the reasons why the state should lead to this kind of action. In addition, it pointed out possible areas of impact with regard to the way of influence. To achieve the objective pursued was used domestic and foreign-language specialist literature and reports of foreign institutions on the operation of creative sectors, and support were the observations of his own Polish creative sector.


1970 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Geare

The first version of the State Sector Bill (State Sector Bill {l)) specified that the Labour Relations Act 1987 would apply in the State Services with respect to dispute settlement Under the Labour Relations Act 1987, the procedure of conciliation may be used only in situations involving two or more employers (s.l34(4)). Hence, to be consistent, conciliation was not available as an option in the state services. Furthennore, arbitration under the Labour Relations Act only operates when both parties agree to its use, and thus compulsory arbitration is no longer available. Thus, the State Sector Bill (I) presented the state unions with the scenario of losing their right to annual general adjusunents and with the possibility of arbitration no longer being available (should the State Services Commission (SSC) or the corresponding "employer" refuse to agree to arbitration). In addition to these very real problems, there were also fears among some groups that they would/could lose other rights (such as parental leave) not written into detern1inations or otherwise provided for in legislation. Some state unions deplored the fact that State Sector Bill (1) encouraged strike action - and went out on strike in protest. After protests and strike action, and further submissions, a second version of the State Sector Bill appeared dated 16 March 1988. This, State Sector Bill (2), provides the basis for the following discussions. It is assumed the State Sector Act, due to take effect from April 1, will not be significantly altered from this.


Author(s):  
Johan Kruger ◽  
Clarence Itumeleng Tshoose

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.


demand for producer goods (that is, implements, fertilisers, etc.) was largely left unsatisfied, a fact which eroded the peasants' productive basis. The exchange with the peasantry became conditioned by the following three interlocking phenomena: (1) the reduction in relative and in absolute terms of official marketing of crops as result of the rapid expansion of parallel markets; (2) the galloping inflation of prices in the parallel markets; and (3) the consequent rapid depreciation of the currency and the increased reluctance to accept the metical in exchange for sale of goods. Although the surface appearances of these phenomena were generally recog-nised, the explanation of the underlying mechanisms was by no means clear. The dominant explanation of the problem came from the ministry of internal commerce which was in its day-to-day operation more directly con-fronted with the problem. According to this view the nature of the problem was the withdrawal from the market by the peasantry since money no longer bought goods. Hence, the payment of rural wages and the buying of cash crops channelled a volume of money into the economy far in excess of available pro-ducer and consumer goods directed to the peasantry. Cash balances therefore accumulated over time and the stimulus to further production was blunted. The fact that the supply of commodities destined to be traded with the peasantry was, in terms of value, far in excess of the official marketing of crops was the often quoted proof that peasants simply ran down cash balances to buy goods and did not produce more for exchange. This view often overlooked the impact of the demand springing from the wage bill and, hence, directly equated the difference between the supply of goods to the peasantry and the goods obtained in return with the running down of cash balances accumulated by the peasantry. The problem therefore was seen as one of an excessive volume of money being held in the rural areas: peasants had too much money relative to the available supply of goods. Therefore, they withdrew from the market and preferred to buy up any supplies forthcoming with the money in hand rather than through production. Implicit in this view was a conception of a single circuit of exchange between the state sector and the peasantry in which the state buys with money either cash crops or labour power, and subsequently the peasantry buys consumer and producer commodities from the state sector (with or without the intermediation of private trade). If both parts do not balance in value, idle balances of money will build up in the hands of the peasantry and over time blunt the incentive of production. The preoccupation was thus with the stock of money in the hands of the peasantry (as a measure of frustrated demand) and little attention was paid to its velocity since it was implicitly assumed that these balances remained idle (stuck in the peasants' pockets). Therefore, concerning economic policy, a solution was sought in the direction of neutralising the interference of accumulated balances by linking sale and purchase together. Hence, commodities would be sold to the peasantry only in exchange for the purchase of cash crops. Similarly, state farms would guarantee a certain part of the wage in kind to assure the flow of labour.


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