NEDLAC RELEASES COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH ON COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN 1995

26 March 1996

Nedlac today released a comprehensive research report which looks at innovations and trends in collective bargaining during the 1995 wage-negotiating season.

This research, undertaken for Nedlac by Avril Joffe and Chris Lloyd of Labour Market Alternatives, is the first attempt ever made in South Africa to describe what is taking place in collective bargaining across all sectors of our economy. It is a useful resource document for both employers and trade unions, and facilitates the diffusion of ideas and innovations across companies and sectors. The research also examines issues arising from collective bargaining that ought to be considered by the social partners in Nedlac.

Reacting to the release of the report, Mr Bokkie Botha, business convenor in Nedlac's Labour Market Chamber, said it was essential for collective-bargaining agreements to be analysed. "This is a very valuable contribution to wage negotiations, and I would recommend that a voluntary database of agreements come out of this process. The report adds depth to the striving for social partnership in the Labour Market Chamber," he added.

The report summarises and analyses the content of agreements reached in 1995 along 17 different themes, which include Aids and health and safety, wage gaps, training, job security, affirmative action, subcontracting, commitment to the reconstruction and development programme, and others.

The authors identify two broad issues which precipitate the signing of agreements on a range of issues. The first arises from an attempt to create stability on the shop-floor, reduce conflict and meet social and political expectations. The second arises from the imperative to meet economic pressures and, in particular, to gear industry for the increased competition resulting from the opening up of the South African economy.

Mr Herbert Mkhize, labour convenor in the Trade and Industry Chamber, said the research provided an answer to the urgent need for reliable data. "With the changing labour-market environment and the challenges posed by our re-entry into the international economic arena, the unions need to focus increasingly on issues other than wage-related ones, such as macroeconomic policies, social issues, et cetera. This research can assist labour's approach to these issues. Also, because the research cuts across all trade unions, one gets a feel for the general direction of the labour movement as a whole."