National Securty Oughtweins Individual Rights to Join Trade Unions (original) (raw)
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Trade Union Rights in South Africa: The Labour Relations Act 1995
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This short book examines the provisions of the post-Apartheid South African Labour Relations Act in the areas of rights to strike, collective bargaining, rights of association and workplace forums. It compares the LRA with British law and discusses the extent to which British trade unions would be advantaged by labour laws based on the LRA model. The book is based on a paper I gave to the Legal Studies Association which can be downloaded from the Papers section of this site. The section on workplace forums is updated in the paper I wrote with Steve Williams entitled Information and Consultation Regulations - Much Ado About Nothing?
TRADE UNIONS AS SUPPLIERS OF GOODS AND SERVICES
SA Merc Law Journal, 2018
Trade unions are important vehicles through which social justice is achieved in the South African society. They play a role in the social, political, and economic spheres. Trade unions are powerful institutions and many provide a wide variety of services and goods to their members, having extended their activities to financial services such as insurance, pension funds, and health products. Some unions have questioned the constitutionality of limiting workers to a particular pension fund which has the effect of impinging on their freedom of association.1 Section 5(6) of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (‘the CPA’) forms part of the application provisions of the Act. The aim of the section is to provide ‘greater certainty’ regarding the scope of application of the CPA. It provides that the supply of any goods or services in the ordinary course of business to any of its members by a club, trade union, association, society, or other collective entity, whether incorporated or not, of persons voluntarily associated and organised for a common purpose or purposes, whether for fair value consideration or otherwise, irrespective of whether there is a charge or economic contribution demanded or expected in order to become or remain a member of that entity, will fall under the Act. This section implies that the goods and services provided by trade unions to their members are subject to the Act, and has fundamental implications for trade unions and their members. This contribution illustrates the development and extended role that trade unions play, not only with regard to labour relations, but also as the suppliers of goods and services to their members.
Obiter
Namibia’s public and private sectors have encountered substantial industrial or strike action. This article highlights the agency problem that arises between trade union leaders or bargaining agents and the employees or the workers they represent during collective bargaining. The agency problem is a conflict of interest inherent in any relationship where one party is expected to act in another’s best interests. How to ensure that the agent acts solely in the interest of the principal is a challenge. The agency problem can occur in companies, non-governmental organisations, professional institutions, governmental bodies or trade unions. Namibian labour laws provide for freedom of association, which includes the freedom to form and join trade unions, and also entrenches fundamental labour rights and protections, and regulates collective labour relations among others. However, the legal framework is silent as to what happens if union leaders or representatives act in bad faith and sign...
Trade Union Rights in South Africa: Does Europe Provide a Paradigm?
This paper which was given to the conference of the Legal Studies Association in Glasgow in 1997 was subsequently developed and published as a short book by the Institute of Employment Rights. The section on workplace forums is updated in the paper by myself and Steve Williams entitled The Information and Consultation Regulations - Much Ado About Nothing?
Obiter, 2021
The issue of organizational rights facing minority unions has been a quagmire since the advent of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995(hereinafter “the LRA”). This quagmire exists, notwithstanding the fact that the Constitution affords every trade union the right to engage in collective bargaining (s 23 of the Constitution, 1996). The acquisition of organizational rights by trade unions plays a crucial rolein as far as collective bargaining is concerned. It is through collective bargaining that unions are able to negotiate with employers regarding the terms and conditions of employment. Commentators have often viewed the LRA as favouring larger unions and as conferring clear advantages on unions with majority support at the industry level. Chapter III of the LRA regulates collective bargaining. Whereas this chapterostensibly promotes a pluralistic approach to organizational rights it is unequivocally biased towards majoritarianism. This is the case despite minority trade unions fulfi...