- Title
- The impact of declining trade union membership on collective bargaining
- Creator
- Nombembe, Vuyani
- Subject
- Labor unions -- South Africa
- Subject
- Collective bargaining -- South Africa Industrial relations -- South Africa
- Date Issued
- 2019
- Date
- 2019
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- LLM
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/42814
- Identifier
- vital:36694
- Description
- Trade unions play an important role in the South African labour relations. Power relations in the workplace favour the employers in terms of decision-making due to the resources that employers have at their disposal, as compared to single employees. In order for employees to be at par with employers during collective bargaining, they join or form trade unions. In South Africa for example, the apartheid government was against trade unions as they were viewed as a threat to the hegemony of the apartheid regime. The democratic dispensation that was ushered in, 1994, sought to change that through a tripartite arrangement between employees, employers and the government. This was done to ensure that trade unions become part of the decision making process on workplace related matters. The South African Constitution of 1996 states that every employee has the right to form and join a trade union and participate in the activities and programmes of a trade union. Trade unions are also able to influence policy related decisions as they participate in decision-making bodies like the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Government has enacted legislation that gives effect to the rights that are enshrined in the Constitution. Through protection afforded by legislation, trade unions are able to recruit members in different sectors and with sufficient sector representation are able to form sector specific Bargaining Councils with Employers’ Organisations representing such sectors, that are able to negotiate terms and conditions of employment for employees in that sector. This study considers and evaluates the rights conferred to trade unions by the Constitution and legislation. The study focuses on the impact of dwindling trade union membership numbers on collective bargaining in South Africa and makes a brief comparison with the European Union (EU). It examines the history of trade unions and the causes of the reduction of trade union membership numbers in South Africa and the EU. Case law is considered in order to gain an understanding of the changing collective bargaining landscape in South Africa. Consideration is given to some of the challenges faced by trade unions in seeking new members and this study makes recommendations of measures that could be put in place to assist trade unions increase their presence in the workplace.
- Format
- iii, 48 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Law
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
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NMU Department of Mercantile Law
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | VUYANI NOMBEMBE.pdf | 524 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |