Labour relations: a strategy for labour peace

Inuagural lecture--Department of Commerce, Rand of Afrikaans University, 28 April 1983The question of what has been achieved labour relations wise in this country was answered in terms of the following: (i) A legal framework has been created in which labour relations could function. In this process the state was removed as active party in the system -it only remains as monitor of the system and the ball is in the court of employers and employees and their organisations. The element of race has largely been taken out of the system -racial aspects are totally out of the law but not fully out of certain industrial council and other agreements. Only state workers are still discriminated against for not having labour democratic rights similar to workers in the private sector. (ii) The labour machinery created is being used to a greater and greater extent in terms of the recent rapid growth in registered unions and union membership and industrial council agreements signed. (iii) In spite of isolated incidents of friction between racial groups on the factory floor a definite improvement has taken place in attitudes of employees of different racial groups towards their work and towards each other. (iv) There remains however a hard core of employees who find it difficult to accept the new labour relations dispensation in which all racial groups receive equal opportunities for development; this group of "difficult" people however should be considered a high priority in training in labour relations. i(v) Personnel management practices have improved substantially with special reference to improved training opportunities, improved systems of communication such as disciplinary codes and procedures, etc. and improved remuneration and remuneration systems in general. It was announced that the RAU will be introducing a new degree: B.Com-(Manpower Strategy and Labour Relations) on a full time and part time basis as from 1984. It was recommended that people need to change their views about trade unions. Trade unions need not be seen as a disruptive influence on labour stability but as an organisation that can defuse potentially explosive labour situations. It was further recommended that industrial councils be formed for the various division of the mining industry, that a legal base be provided for recognition agreements, that the registration procedures for unions be simplified and that an urgent method be found to incorporate unregistered general unions into the system