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Resorting to strike action by employees or a labour union is indicative of the fact that the grievances raised have remained unresolved. However, strike action may have undesirable consequences for the participants in the event that it is not protected (not in compliance with the law). Therefore, it is imperative for employees and/or their representatives to ensure that the action complies with the law to avoid dismissals. As in the previous instalment under the same title, we shall continue to discuss the legal principles surrounding strikes.
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The employer-employee relationship is one where the bargaining power between the parties is not grounded on equal footing. This is because of the competing interests between the two sides and to some extent, the economic bargaining power. When an unskilled or semi-skilled employee negotiates, he/she does so from a position awake to the fact that should no consensus be reached, there is a ready market of job seekers who can offer their services on the very same terms. This often results in grievances, and sometimes strikes. Can employees engage in strikes willy-nilly?
There is a well-known saying that goes like “cutting your losses,” which is usually used where a person has all but accepted that there is no gain that will be realised in a situation, all that is left to do is to at least minimise the loss. Being in such a situation is not ideal for anyone, as the daily endeavor of many people each day is to make gains and leave one at an advantage.
What then becomes, when ‘cutting the loss’ comes a little bit too late? This seems to be what happened in the case of Standard Bank of South Africa Limited v Chiloane.
The recent decision of the government to terminate the national state of disaster, in favour of managing the Covid-19 pandemic further under the National Health Act of 2003, brought more questions than answers in the ongoing debate concerning vaccine mandates. Of particular interest are the conflicting positions between the government’s policy on Covid-19 vaccination as well as the regulations in terms of the National Health Act. Could this be telling of a reality we are soon to face in South Africa in the near future?
Some people might have heard Legal Practitioners talking about what is known as condonation, and could have been unfamiliar with what is being referred to. In order to understand what condonation means in legal discourse, it is helpful to start with consulting the meaning that the English language ascribes to it. The word ‘condone’ in English vocabulary denotes to ‘overlook, excuse, forgive or disregard.’ In legal discourse, the word condone still retains the same meaning and is used in processes where there has been non-compliance with rules or laws, such that the requester would be seeking to be allowed to persist with the matter despite such non-compliance. In this discussion we will shed some light on the requirements that the requester has to motivate in seeking condonation in labour matters at the CCMA.
The 2016 film titled Arrival, features a scene where a character called Louise recites to a Chinese army General (General Shang), his dying wife’s last words. It is portrayed that this played the most critical role in his subsequent decision not to go to war against the aliens. War is severe, chaotic and its effects are far reaching for many generations. With the Russia-Ukraine conflict in full scale, most countries in the world are speaking with one voice that a negotiated settlement be pursued.
Labour and/or employment law litigation requires that disputes, not only be brought within the set time frames before adjudication forums, but also that they be brought before the correct forum. This is important in that jurisdiction is one of the grounds that may be raised as a point in limine (preliminary issues), to have the matter dismissed.
Unlike in civil and criminal proceedings, labour litigation at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) does not always allow the representation of a party by a legal representative. It is thought that the reason for this is so that there is a ‘level playing field’ when the matter is being adjudicated. In this article we will discuss instances where legal representation is permitted or disallowed during CCMA proceedings.
The Department of Health published the amended National Health Act regulations on 15 March 2022, in line with the government’s decision to further manage the Covid-19 pandemic under the National Health Act of 2003. As we might be aware, the pandemic had been managed under the Disaster Management Act of 2002, which provided for the legal framework under which the National State of Disaster was declared in 2020. In his address to the nation on 4 April 2022, the President of South Africa announced the termination of the national state of disaster, citing that the pandemic will be managed under the National Health Act of 2003 (largely, not exclusively).
The armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine has made headlines the world over, and has brought to the fore reflections and deliberations on how international humanitarian law governs armed conflict. The essence of humanitarian law is largely premised on the protection of civilian lives and civilian objects, by placing obligations and restrictions in the way armed combat is executed.
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