THIS week, Rael Solomon reports that the CCMA is under pressure to deal with the volume of disputes referred to it.

CCMA Commissioner Larry Shear explains the philosophy underpinning the Labour Relations Act.

PHILOSOPHY OF THE LRA

The new Act came into being after protracted negotiations between stakeholders representing employers, labour and government. Many compromises were made during the negotiations, and the new Act can be described as the first real democratic Labour Law in South Africa, reflecting the wishes and interests of all the relevant parties.

The following are the main features of the new Act:

• The Act recognises collective bargaining as the most acceptable means of resolving disputes of mutual interest, and encourages and provides the means to reach agreement.
• The Act also recognises that strikes and lockouts are an intrinsic part of the process of collective bargaining and therefore simplifies the procedure to be followed before embarking on such action.
• As part of the process of encouraging collective bargaining, and in order to make bargaining more meaningful, the Act imposes an obligation on employers to disclose information which may be required for bargaining and negotiations. This obligation is subject to limitation and is designed to assist the parties in reaching agreement.
• The Act has also simplified the dispute resolution procedures by replacing the Industrial Court with the new Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration. It is hoped that disputes will now be processed much more efficiently and at less cost to the parties.
• Perhaps the most radical innovation of the new Act, is the introduction of the workplace forum. Workplace forums are organisations consisting of elected employees who have the right to consult with management and to reach joint agreement with management over matters defined in the Act. Such matters are relevant to the interests of the parties in a particular workplace.
• Furthermore, the Act has been extended in its scope and now includes employees who were previously excluded from the existing Act. Therefore, for example, farm workers, domestic workers, State employees and teachers and tertiary lecturers are now specifically included in the Act. In other words, all employees and employers will have the same rights and obligations under the new Law.

It cannot work, however, if there is not a fairly dramatic change in attitude of the interested parties. It will also not work, if the parties concerned in the relationship are not informed or aware o the terms and philosophy of the new Act.

The Act contains many rights and obligations. It is every employee's right to know what they are. It is also in management's interest to make employees aware of their rights and obligations. Knowledge creates less uncertainty

CCMA UNDER PRESSURE

The CCMA is being swamped by individuals Referring disputes to the CCMA.

The majority of all disputes referred to the CCMA are for unfair dismissal by individuals. The CCMA plays a vital role in regulating the procedures for collective bargaining. It provides a framework for employees, trade unions, employers & employer's organizations to collectively bargain with respect to wages, terms & conditions of employment and matters of mutual interest. This macro-role is essential to the interests of labour relations in the "new" South Africa.

The sheer number of individual disputes being referred to the CCMA, from comments in Labour Columns of the newspapers, appears to be affecting its efficiency. The ease with which disputes may be referred for mediation should be balanced by a process of screening. This would prevent cases, which could be resolved telephonically or with a standard letter, from taking up about two hours of a commissioner's time for mediation (without prejudice) which may then have to be followed at another date by arbitration.

We have found that unfair dismissals are often due to employer ignorance of procedures to be followed and their employee's rights. In many instances when the employer is made aware of the relevant legislation and its bearing on a particular issue, especially if coming from a "legal" source, attitudes change and employer - employee negotiations at the workplace are successful. This methodology could dramatically reduce the number of cases having to be heard by the CCMA.