By Ivan Israelstam, Chief Executive of Labour Law Management Consulting. He may be contacted on (011) 888-7944 or 0828522973 or on e-mail address: ivan@labourlawadvice.co.za. Web Address: www.labourlawadvice.co.za.
On 2 July 2024 Mining.com reported on an illegal strike at Impala Patinum’s Bafokeng mine by contractors demanding permanent jobs. While the employer obtained an interdict against the strike this does not mean that the dispute has been settled. At the same time the Citizen has reported that Ford workers are threatening to strike over bonuses. This suggests that the mood amongst labour is not upbeat about what the GNU will deliver.
The fact that the ANC has now lost its majority means that its GNU ‘partners’ in the cabinet will have a say in government policy. This creates uncertainty amongst the ANC’s labour allies as to what their members can expect. SADTU has already bemoaned the appointment of a DA candidate as the Minister of Basic Education.
Labour’s dissatisfaction and uncertainty as to what the GNU will bring is likely to result in apprehensiveness and even fractious behaviour. Employers too are uncertain as to whether the multi-party cabinet will provide better or worse government.
The resulting tension in the workplace will not be good for industrial relations, and employers need to be conscious of this danger. Now, more than ever, employers need to ensure that their managers who interact with workers are skilled in keeping the peace while still ensuring a productive workplace. That is; in order to prevent more strikes, employers need to train their line managers on how to achieve a balance between maintaining labour peace and productive work performance.
If strikes are not prevented the employer is likely to lose money due to delayed service to clients or to lost production time. The employees will lose their pay due to the no work, no pay principle. If the strikers are dismissed, they will lose their livelihoods altogether.
Furthermore, strikes in South Africa are frequently violent. This can cause injury, death and damage to property.
Once the strike is over, even if the business has not been closed down by it, the feelings of hostility resulting from the strike can severely damage teamwork, productivity and profitability. And this, in turn, can result in retrenchments and more strikes. Therefore, this is a situation where prevention is the best medicine.
The innovative video series WALKING THE LABOUR LAW TIGHTROPE assists employers to provide their managers with very inexpensive training that allows the managers to achieve the necessary know-how at times suitable for their very busy schedules. Its 48 chapters, averaging 10 minutes in length each, can easily be watched at junctures when the manager has time. This greatly informative yet very engaging and practical video series provides crucial and user-friendly learning through the use of a stimulating, animated case study that runs throughout the 48-chapter series. Each chapter contains clear and important advice needed by workplace management on the basics of labour law over a very wide range of topics.
A further advantage is that the manager can, for a full year, easily go back to any of the 48 videos for purposes of refresher training or in order to access information on how to deal with a current workplace issue. This solves the problem of managers forgetting what they have learned.
This video series helps management to walk the shaky labour law tightrope and to run the workplace productively without falling into the labour law abyss.
To access our groundbreaking video series: WALKING THE NEW LABOUR LAW TIGHTROPE please go to www.labourlawvideos.co.za or contact Ivan on ivan@labourlawadvice.co.za
