1. HALTON CHEADLE CCMA 15 TH ANNIVERSARY – THINK TANK 10 NOVEMBER 2011 The Vision for the Post-1994 Labour Market

2. PRESENTATION OUTLINE  The challenges at the time  Policy and legislative responses  Vision for the post-1994 labour market

3. CHALLENGES  The new government faced a terrible legacy of extreme inequality and high unemployment  mass unemployment and poverty  discrimination and inequality  intense conflict at the workplace  low levels of productivity  shortage of managerial and technical skills required to drive an economy  Sluggish employment growth  economy increasingly open to international competition

4. POLICY & LEGISLATIVE RESPONSES  Constitutional rights  RDP’s employment related objectives  Policies underlying the LRA  NEDLAC Act  Labour Market Commission (Presidential Commission to investigate labour market policy (Report in June 1996)  EEA, BCEA, SDA

5. THE RDP’s VISION  Eradication of poverty through “more and better” jobs  Worker participation  The elimination of racial and gender-based discrimination in the labour market  Productivity enhancement  A stable macroeconomic environment

6. LABOUR MARKET COMMISSION  Terms of reference  To develop labour market policies to meet the RDP  Voice regulation at all levels  Balance between labour market security and flexibility  National Productivity Accord  Productivity-enhancing work organisation  Institutionalised co-ordination

7. THE EMERGENCE OF A POST-1994 VISION  “Regulated flexibility”  A growth path with job creation and strong economic development  Increased private sector investment to underpin employment growth including the IDC’s development finance and support measures for small, medium and micro-enterprises  Labour market policies co-ordinated with macroeconomic policies by means of a national Accord for Employment and Growth involving all of the social partners  Macroeconomic, industrial and trade policies that promote employment and do not focus only on driving down inflation

8. THE POST-1994 VISION  Management of global competition - increasing efficiency in the utilisation of domestic resources, both labour and capital, as the basis for effective engagement in international markets  Reforms in the labour market to promote flexibility, where flexibility is understood as a multi-faceted concept that is not merely a euphemism for lower real wages or weak unions  Protection of individual rights and labour market security  The balance between flexibility and security achieved through the mechanism of voice regulation - bargained arrangements between strong, stable and well-informed employer and employee representatives

9. THE POST-1994 VISION  Promotion of collective bargaining  Institutional framework  Nedlac  Sectoral bargaining through bargaining councils  Workplace forums

10. THE POST-1994 VISION  Employment equity – affirmative action without quotas but the emphasis on the role of collective bargaining and participatory workplace structures in developing employment equity plans  Skills development with recognition of prior learning  Workplace-based training with transportable skills and qualifications

11. THE VISION FOR NEDLAC  Policy-making at the highest level  Consensus based  Tripartism  A forum for negotiating legislation prior to normal legislative processes  Demarcation of sectors

12. THE LRA’S VISION  Social justice and economic development  Freedom of association  Organisational rights to stabilise union organisation  Promotion of collective bargaining – both at workplace and sectoral level  Establishment and consolidation of bargaining councils  Framework agreements at sectoral level  Productivity bargaining at plant level  Less adversarialism and meaningful consultation at all levels

13. THE LRA’S VISION  Speedy dispute resolution with the emphasis on meaningful consensus- seeking approaches  Recognition of the right to strike with relatively non-technical processes to follow  Interest arbitration of essential services disputes  Relative labour peace – no strikes over dismissals and thorough mediation before strike action  Codified, clear law on unfair dismissals with final and binding arbitration; limited grounds for review  Limited concept of the unfair labour practice  Simple workplace disciplinary processes

14. QUESTIONS  Why have we not achieved more consensual, rather than less adversarial engagements?  Has NEDLAC succeeded as an effective tripartite institution?  Is collective bargaining playing a constructive economic role  Is there sufficient progress on productivity and skills development?  Is it too easy to strike?  Is it too easy to refer disputes?

15. QUESTIONS  Why have unions not followed organisational and strategic approaches to changes in the labour market?  What is the scope for job creation agreements, perhaps with lower wages for new entrants?  What role can the CCMA play to achieve the original vision?