Theme 4: The South African Work Order

Lecture 22 (1 June 2021) -

i Regulating the South African Labour
Market
Reading:
Webster & Englert (2020) New Dawn or end of labour?
From South Africa’s East Rand to Ekurhuleni.
Globalisations. (see pp. 279-285).
Webster & Francis (2019) The paradox of Inequality in
South Africa: a challenge from the workplace.
Transformation. (pp. 13-22).

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 Recap - Triple Transition
• Discussed this at the beginning of theme four.
• 1994 – transition from apartheid to democracy …
first elections.
– Referred to as the triple transition
• Authoritarianism to political democracy – host
of political and economic rights and social rights.
• Economic liberalisation – domestic orientated
economy to globally integrated one.
• Social – apartheid to a post-colonial order –
redistribution of power, access to resources
occupations and skills.
• Post-94 - new legislation to change the
(apartheid) workplace order.
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 Focusing on Regulatory Mechanisms
• Regulatory mechanisms that are key to
transforming the work order directly relate to
two aspects of the triple transition.
– creation of economic and social rights
– creation of a post-colonial order where there was a
redistribution of power, access to resources
occupations and skills.
– (of course these are closely linked to the creation of a
political democracy).
• Asking the questions,
– How did this legislation enable a new workplace
order?
– What role have these regulatory mechanisms played
in creating new lines of inclusion and exclusion?
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 Contextualising Post-94 Labour Market Regulation
(W&E pp.279-285)
• The new labour market regime - driven by Triple Alliance
(ANC, SACP and COSATU).
• This alliance came into being in 1990 with the unbanning of
the ANC and the SACP.
• Before trade unions - independent from political groups
and focused on factory floor issues.
• But increasing repression of communities in the late 1980s
– associated levels of violence in communities
– deployment of the South African Defence Force to the
townships
– had caused them to rethink this.
• Shop stewards become more involved in community issues
– formation of local township-based Shop Steward Councils
• Saw emergence of new type of trade unionism – social
movement unionism.
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 Social Movement Unionism
• TU did not focus only on workplace issues and confine
itself to collective bargaining
• Also took on board wider community issues
– arguing that a worker is a member of a community and
issues in the community also affect the worker.
• In 1980s some COSATU trade unions did not quite
agree with the Social Movement unionism approach.
– They thought that unions should continue to focus on
workplace issues and leave community struggles against
apartheid and repression to community-based
organisations.
• But dominant approach was that trade unions should
be involved in the struggle against apartheid
– this enabled the formation of the Triple Alliance.
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Post-94 (new) labour relations regime
• The SACP, COSATU and ANC - in alliance - shaped
the new labour relations regime.
– This means that they were also committed to
defending it.
• The new labour relations (workplace) regime is
key in regulating the post-94 South African labour
market.
• New mechanisms (legislation / institutions) were
meant to close the gap of inequality and be
central to reshaping the work order.

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 Post-94 Labour Market Institutions
• Legislation
– Labour Relations Act (LRA) (1995).
– Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) (1997).
– Employment Equity Act (EEA) (1998).
– Skills Development Act (1998).
• Number of new Labour Market Institutions -
introduced through the legislation.
– NEDLAC (National Economic Development and Labour
Council).
– Sector Bargaining Councils – introduced sector wide
bargaining.
– SETA (Sector Education and Training Authority).
– Employment Equity Commission.
– CCMA (Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and
Arbitration).
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