Understanding and managing

employment relations

Dr Nyawo
PURPOSE OF THE CHAPTER

 The purpose of this chapter is to understand

and analyse the importance of establishing
sound employment relations in the public
sector workplace.
Introduction
 The history of employee relations in S.A
 Managing the relationship between employers

and their employees

Definition- ER
 Employee relations- refers to the
establishment, maintenance & development
of systems and processes that determine the
relationship between an employer &
employee.
 The basis of the employee relationship is the

contract of employment.
Contextualising public sector
employee relations in SA
 ILO (International Labour Organisation)- SA is a member of this organisation &
bound by the ILO conventions & decisions.
• ILO brings together governments, employers and workers of 187
member states, to set labour standards, develop policies and devise
programmes promoting decent work for all women and men.
• Develop legislation that promote the rights of the public sector
employees
 Constitution, S23- lays the basis for good employee relations &
collective bargaining in all sectors- everyone has the right to far labour
practises
• Formation of trade unions & participation therein by workers as well as
a right to strike
• Collective bargaining- trade union, employer organisation & employer
to engage.
• BCoEA of 1997- fair labour practises: working time, leave, employment
& remuneration, termination, & prohibition of child & forced labour.
Role players in PS employee
relations
 ILO- drawing up & overseeing international labour standards.
Tripartite UN agency that brings together representatives of gvts,
employers & workers to jointly shape the policies.
 NEDLAC (National Economic Development and Labour Council) -
ushering in
democracy in SA was a combination of efforts through a variety of
processes, structures & other transitional interventions. One
intervention was the establishment of NEDLAC. It is a legal entity, &
a vehicle by which gvt, labour, business, community organisations
seek to cooperate, through problem solving & negotiation, on
economic, labour, & development issues facing the country.
 Department of Labour- gvt is represented by the
Department of Labour. It implement & enforce all relevant labour
legislation & promote sound employee relations in SA.
Role players conti……
 Commission for Conciliation, Mediation &
Arbitration- legally established independent structure that
resolves labour disputes through conciliation, mediation & arbitration.
 Labour Court- Judicial labour dispute institution.
 Labour Appeal Court- in an event that disputing parties are
not satisfied with order of the Labour Court, they still have recourse to
apply to the Labour Appel Court. It s the final court of appeal in
respect of all judgement made by Labour Court.
 Bargaining Councils- both unions & employers’ organisations
must be sufficiently representative of the sector. Conclude collective
agreements, enforce those collective agreements, prevent & resolve
labour disputes
 Trade Unions- regulate relations between employees &
employers, including employers’ organisation. Employees join trade
unions to strengthen their voice when negotiating with employer.
Facets of public sector employee
relations
 Grievance management
 Discipline management
 Dispute resolution
 Collective bargaining
Strikes & lock-outs in the public
sector
 a strike may be broadly defined as “a temporary, collective
withholding of labour, its objective being to stop or impede
the continuation of business and thereby to oblige the
employer to take notice of employee demands.”

 The Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 Act defines a lock-out as

follows:

[T]he exclusion by an employer of employees from the

employer’s workplace, for the purpose of compelling the
employees to accept a demand in respect of any matter of
mutual interest between employer and employee,
whether or not the employer breaches those employees’
contracts of employment in the course of or for the
purpose of that exclusion.
Strikes & Lock-outs
 To strike is the refusal to work, the slowing down
of work or the obstruction of work by employees
(“strikers”).
 A strike takes place to resolve a dispute between
the employees and their employer. The dispute
must be about something in the employer’s
control, for example, wages, improved working
conditions and other disputes of mutual interest.
 While employees have the right to strike, an
employer has an option to lock-out. However,
these rights can sometimes be limited, for
example, if the employees are bound by a collective
agreement or are involved with essential services.
Strikes & Lock-outs
 A lock-out is the refusal of the employer to
grant the employees access to the workplace.
This means that the employees are not able
to render their services and as a result will
not be paid.
 A lock-out takes place in response to a strike

or to force the employees to accept a demand

of the employer. The demand must relate to
disputes of mutual interest. The demand of
the employer can be, for example, to force
the employees to accept changes to their
terms and conditions of employment.
When can employees strike and an employer lock-out?
 When the employees and employer fail to resolve a dispute in
the workplace, they have to follow a lawful procedure before
they can strike or lock-out.
 A strike or lock-out is considered protected (lawful) if the

correct procedure was followed:

Failure to resolve a dispute in the workplace
Step 1: Conciliation - the dispute must be referred to the
Council for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (“CCMA”) or
Bargaining Council for resolution
Step 2: Certificate of outcome - if the dispute remains
unresolved
or a 30 day period has expired since it has been referred to the
CCMA, a certificate of outcome must be obtained
Step 3: Notice of Commencement – at least 48 hours prior to
the strike or lock-out a written notice of the commencement
must be given
Status of strikes and lock-outs in
terms of the LRA
 Prohibited strikes and lock-outs
◦ Public sector employees participating in a prohibited strike
are guilty of misconduct and may be dismissed, provided
that a fair procedure is followed.

 Protected strikes and lock-outs

◦ Strikes or lock-outs that conform to the procedural
requirements stipulated in the Act.

 Unprotected strikes and lock-outs

◦ Strikes or lock-outs that fall outside the procedures of the
Act.
What are the consequences of a protected strike?

 Employees may not be dismissed for participating in a

protected strike.
 Employees may be dismissed for causing damage to the
property of their employer, or another person at the workplace,
during the strike.
 Employees may be retrenched for operational reasons as a
result of the strike.
 Employees may be arrested and prosecuted for committing a
criminal offence during a strike.
 The principle of “no work – no pay” applies. The employer does
not have to pay the employees during a strike. However, the
employer has to make payments in kind which include food,
accommodation and other benefits such as pension, medical
aid and so on.
 Employers may appoint replacement labour in response to a
strike
Issues over which employees can
strike & employers can lock-out
 Wage increases
 Demand to establish or join a bargaining

council
 Demand to recognise a union as a collective

bargaining agent
 Demand for organisational rights
 Demand to suspend or negotiate unilateral

changes to working conditions

 Unprotected lock-out or unprotected strike

by the other party

Strike management phases

 Pre-strike or preparatory phase

◦ Management needs to engage in practices that prevent strikes. No public
sector management team can be totally sure that they will never have to
deal with any form of industrial action

 Active phase of strike management

◦ The strike management team has to collect and analyse all the
information, discuss possible courses of action, and commence with
their functions. Open up communication with the representatives of
those on strike to identify grievances

 Post-strike phase
◦ After an episode of serious industrial conflict, it is important to take
certain steps immediately in order to rebuild the relationship between
the parties.
Establishing sound union-
management relations in the
public sector
Handling initial trade union contact

 Trade union request for recognition (contact maybe

in written form or by telephone, direct person to
person)
 A once-off representation of an employee
regarding an employment issue
Formalising the union-management
relationship
 Involves an agreement between the parties including
the following steps:

◦ Trade union has to present proof of its membership

◦ Management informs the trade union of the type of
representativeness required before recognition as official
representative employees
◦ Enter into closed shop agreements (all employees covered by
the agreement are compelled to become members of that trade
union) or agency shop agreements (employer is compelled to
deduct from the wages of employees within the bargaining unit who
are not trade union members an amount equal or less than the
membership fees).
Establishing sound employment
relations in the public sector
Communicating with public sector
employees

 Methods of communicating with public sector

employees
◦ Methods can be used to communicate with employees such
as formal letter or memoranda regarding important issues,
notice boards to make information of a general nature
available to those who may be interested, in-house
newspapers and journals containing interesting and
important general information about the institution and its
employees, electronic mail (e-mail) on important and
urgent messages, formal committees where
representatives of management and non-management
public sector employees get together to deal with certain
issues, and the establishment of workplace forums.
Handling public sector employee
grievances
Grievance handling refers to the process whereby public
sector management formally deals with the officially
presented complaint(s) of employees relating to the
employment relationship (excluding disciplinary
matters).

 Principles underlying grievance handling

◦ Management must adhere to specific principles

 Grievance procedure
◦ An employer’s grievance procedure is normally made available
in a document which spells out the stages or steps to be
followed when employees have grievances