Secret ballot before strikes

LABOUR RELATIONS ACT: SA HAS NEW GUIDELINES FOR ALL INDUSTRIAL ACTION

Government concerned about intimidation and violence in the workplace.

The days of wildcat strikes and vindictive lockouts are gone and both trade unions and employers will have to follow new rules that require them to conduct secret ballots before embarking on action. Until the guidelines were published on December 19 last year, pickets and strikes by workers and lockouts by employers did not need a prior secret ballot in terms of the Labour Relations Act (LRA).

In the past there was a provision for a ballot but not for a secret ballot, and unions did not have to have this provision in their constitutions.

The guidelines came into effect from January 1 because government was concerned about actions that often resulted in intimidation and violence in the workplace. Another aim is to ensure alternative solutions are found.

Osborne Molatudi, a Johannesburgbased labour lawyer and partner at Hogan Lovells South Africa, said there has to be an agreement between workers and employers before a strike can take place, including reasonable notice.

“The idea is to ensure strike activities are orderly,” said Molatudi. “The guidelines also have an effect of responsibility and accountability.”

He said the rationale behind the secret ballot provision was to make sure the intended action was well supported.

Both parties must give a reasonable place where the balloting is to take place.

The South Africa Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) and its affiliates said this was an attempt to deprive workers of their constitutional right to strike.

But the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and employer organisations seem to believe the guidelines are neither new nor a reason for alarm. –