ISSN: 1996-2207
Affiliations: University of the Witwatersrand
Source: Tydskrif vir die Suid-Afrikaanse Reg, Issue 2, 2025, p. 435-437
https://doi.org/10.47348/TSAR/2025/i2a16
None
ISSN: 1996-2207
Affiliations: University of the Witwatersrand
Source: Tydskrif vir die Suid-Afrikaanse Reg, Issue 2, 2025, p. 437-438
https://doi.org/10.47348/TSAR/2025/i2a17
None
ISSN: 2413-9874
Affiliations: Senior Counsel, Johannesburg Bar (Sandton); Adjunct Professor of Law, Nelson Mandela University
Source: Industrial Law Journal, Volume 46 Issue 2, 2025, p. 706 – 721
https://doi.org/10.47348/ILJ/v46/i2a1
This article explores two things. Firstly, whether the Labour Court has delivered on the statutory promise of providing for the effective and expeditious resolution of labour disputes, particularly in relation to the review of arbitration awards of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration — the conclusion being that it has not. Secondly, what plans are in place to address the backlog, and how the court might reduce the inflow of reviews by adopting a uniform approach to their determination — thus enhancing the predictability of the outcome.
ISSN: 2413-9874
Affiliations: Senior Lecturer, University of South Africa; Associate Professor, Stellenbosch University
Source: Industrial Law Journal, Volume 46 Issue 2, 2025, p. 722 – 748
https://doi.org/10.47348/ILJ/v46/i2a2
The appropriateness of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (LRA 1995) has been questioned for its effect on the plight of minority union members or a minority group of employees who share a significant and discrete interest in the workplace. This article considers the vision of majoritarianism in the LRA 1995 as a product of criticism of the Industrial Conciliation Act 28 of 1956 (subsequently renamed the Labour Relations Act (LRA 1956)), and its support by the Constitutional Court. It does so with reference to representation at disciplinary enquiries, during retrenchment consultation, and during collective bargaining to show that after almost 30 years of the current LRA we have perhaps come full circle to the point where the Act is open to the same criticism levelled against the LRA 1956 all those years ago.
ISSN: 2413-9874
Affiliations: Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town; Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria
Source: Industrial Law Journal, Volume 46 Issue 2, 2025, p. 749 – 782
https://doi.org/10.47348/ILJ/v46/i2a3
Although individual jurisdictions have since developed their own nuances, the right to freedom of association in the labour context in jurisdictions acknowledging such a right stem from the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention 87, adopted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 1948. In South Africa, this right is emphasised in ss 18 and 23 of the Constitution, with further regulation provided by the Labour Relations Act (LRA). Many of the provisions in the LRA can potentially raise issues, but this article focuses on its explicit expression in chapter II of the LRA. The article examines several contentious aspects of this chapter: the lack of a registration requirement for trade unions, the definition of ‘lawful activities’ for unions, an employee’s right to join a union ‘subject to its constitution,’ and whether a right not to associate can be inferred. It further considers the interface between the right to freedom of association and closed and agency shop agreements. The conclusion is that, despite South African courts generally adopting a liberal understanding of the right to freedom of association, their approach regarding employees’ rights to be represented by chosen trade unions has been surprisingly conservative.