A Call to Revise Section 8(2)(e) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act to include Crisis Risk Communication

by | Oct 3, 2019 | ILJ, ILJ V40 I3

A Call to Revise Section 8(2)(e) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act to include Crisis Risk Communication

Authors Terrence R Carney, Nina Mollema

ISSN: 2413-9874
Affiliations: Senior lecturer in Afrikaans Linguistics, College of Human Sciences, UNISA; Associate Professor in Criminal and Procedural Law, College of Law, UNISA
Source: Industrial Law Journal, Volume 40 Issue 3, 2019, p. 1441 – 1456

Abstract

This article gauges s 8 of South Africa’s Occupational Health and Safety Act and highlights its lack of clarity and prescriptive guidelines on crisis risk communication. Paragraph 8(2)(e) specifically obliges employers to provide information and training to ensure a safe and healthy working environment. However, the Act neither defines the words ‘communication’ and ‘information’ nor does it clearly provide for the dissemination of information during a crisis, like industrial action, which affects many employees simultaneously. The #FeesMustFall and insourcing protests that occurred at universities across the country during 2015-2016 are a good example of this. The protests compelled universities to send out text messages as a means of communicating with their staff and students. Though crisis risk communication theory expects messages to provide clear and straightforward directives, some messages were vague. This begs the question whether an institution must simply provide information to comply with the law, or whether clear directives should be the only legal standard. Subsection 8(2)(e) of the Act provides little insight. With the above in mind, this article suggests best practice criteria for crisis risk communication and a proposed reformulation of s 8(2)(e).

A Recipe for Procedural Success in the Case of Large-scale Retrenchments: Woolies Times Three, with a Pinch of Edcon and Steenkamp for Taste

by | Oct 3, 2019 | ILJ, ILJ V40 I3

A Recipe for Procedural Success in the Case of Large-scale Retrenchments: Woolies Times Three, with a Pinch of Edcon and Steenkamp for Taste

Authors Rochelle le Roux

ISSN: 2413-9874
Affiliations: Professor, Department of Commercial Law, University of Cape Town
Source: Industrial Law Journal, Volume 40 Issue 3, 2019, p. 1421 – 1440

Abstract

None

Case Note: The cost of safe working conditions for pregnant employees: Manyetsa v New Kleinfontein Gold Mine (Pty) Ltd (2018) 39 ILJ 415 (LC)

by | Oct 3, 2019 | ILJ, ILJ V40 I2

Case Note: The cost of safe working conditions for pregnant employees: Manyetsa v New Kleinfontein Gold Mine (Pty) Ltd (2018) 39 ILJ 415 (LC)

Authors Asheelia Behari, Darren Subramanien, Tamara Cohen

ISSN: 2413-9874
Affiliations: Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Law, University of KwaZulu-Natal; Lecturer, School of Law, University of KwaZulu-Natal; Honorary Research Fellow, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Source: Industrial Law Journal, Volume 40 Issue 2, 2019, p. 732 – 745

Abstract

None

Note: Amendments to the CCMA Rules: Thoughts on the good, bad and the curious

by | Oct 3, 2019 | ILJ, ILJ V40 I2

Note: Amendments to the CCMA Rules: Thoughts on the good, bad and the curious

Authors Stefan van Eck, Rudolf Kuhn

ISSN: 2413-9874
Affiliations: Professor of Labour Law and Director of the Centre of Insolvency, Labour and Company Law, University of Pretoria; Practicing Attorney, Rudolf Kuhn Attorney, Pretoria
Source: Industrial Law Journal, Volume 40 Issue 2, 2019, p. 711 – 731

Abstract

None

The disorganisation of organisational rights – recent case law and outstanding questions

by | Oct 3, 2019 | ILJ, ILJ V40 I2

The disorganisation of organisational rights – recent case law and outstanding questions

Authors Emma Fergus

ISSN: 2413-9874
Affiliations: Senior Lecturer, Commercial Law Department, Institute of Development and Labour Law, University of Cape Town
Source: Industrial Law Journal, Volume 40 Issue 2, 2019, p. 685 – 710

Abstract

The regulation of organisational rights in South African law remains fraught. With reference to recent and contentious case law, this article considers selected questions which remain outstanding. In particular,the Constitutional Court’s decision in Police & Prisons Civil Rights Union v SA Correctional Services Workers Union & others is discussed, and aspects of the various judgments are critiqued. Whether organisational rights may be effectively categorised as statutory or contractual in nature is a highlighted issue. In addition, the definition of the workplace as it has been applied by both the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and the courts is reviewed, along with the capacity of unions to acquire organisational rights through the statutory scheme, notwithstanding the nature of their membership. In conclusion, the author recommends that while clarity and certainty are urgently needed, they must be achieved in a way that facilitates the acquisition of organisational rights (in terms of the LRA) by trade unions, given the challenges which unions face today.

Workplace protection of employees suffering from depression: A South African perspective

by | Oct 3, 2019 | ILJ, ILJ V40 I1

Workplace protection of employees suffering from depression: A South African perspective

Authors Bernice Welgemoed, Elsabe Huysamen

ISSN: 2413-9874
Affiliations: Associate Lecturer, University of the Western Cape; Lecturer, University of the Western Cape
Source: Industrial Law Journal, Volume 40 Issue 1, 2019, p. 41 – 59

Abstract

Depression is a mood disorder that negatively affects the way in which a person feels. This can ultimately impact on an employee’s ability to work, and often results in extensive periods of absenteeism. Individuals who suffer from depression are frequently reluctant to share their knowledge of illness due to continuing societal prejudice around issues of mental health, and specifically depression. Fears of being subjected to unfair discrimination or ridicule because of depression also often contribute to the decision by employees not to disclose their mental health status to employers and/or colleagues. The labour courts in South Africa have largely tendered two different views on how employers should approach depression in the workplace. The first view holds that depression should be approached as an incapacity ill-health issue, while the second view argues that depression is more appropriately to be approached as part of disability protection for purposes of employment law. This article will discuss the general protection of people with disabilities in the workplace, and then investigate where depression could best fit into this overall scheme. This will include examining the decisions to date by the South African labour courts on the issue of depression, and what lessons could perhaps be learnt from the way in which the United Kingdom approaches depression in the workplace.