THE RESOLUTION OF LABOUR DISPUTES IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE

ABSTRACTThe employment relationship by its very nature implies conflict in the workplace. Employers and their employees disagree on conditions of employment and other issues of mutual interest between them. Employers and trade unions are often at loggerheads during negotiations. The Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (LRA) creates structures for the resolution of disputes between employers and employees/trade unions and provides for processes through which these disputes can be resolved. The first step in dispute resolution is conciliation, which involves any consensus-building process and which is an endeavour to resolve a dispute. If conciliation fails, some disputes can proceed to arbitration, while others must be referred to the Labour Court for adjudication. The general public seems to be relatively familiar with the CCMA (Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration) as an institution responsible for the resolution of labour disputes. Not so well known, however, is that bargaining councils can also resolve disputes through conciliation and arbitration. The majority of the bargaining councils in the private sector have been in existence for many years — established under the LRA of 1956 and revamped under the 1995 LRA. A lesser known fact is that bargaining councils for the public sector have been established with a view to negotiating collective agreements between the state as employer and the registered trade unions involved in the public sector and resolving many of the labour disputes that arise in the public service. The purpose of this article is to introduce the reader to the bargaining councils in the public service, give an exposition of the jurisdiction of each council and explain which disputes can be resolved by these councils and how those disputes are resolved.