INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND
LEGISLATION
CONSTITUTION:
With the bi rth of Democrac y on 27 April 1994, it w as necessary to drastically amend the
Constituti on to e nsure equality for all citizens.
Democrac y implies th at all citizens, regardless of colour, race, gender or c ulture, h ave th e right
to v ote f or the government.
Both private citizens and businesses fall unde r the Constitution, and it also forms the basis of all
other laws within the c ountry.
The Constituti on of the Re public of South Africa (Act 108 of q996, as amended) was adopted by
the Constitutional Assembly on 8 May 1996 and amende d on 11 October 1996.
HUMAN RIG HTS:
ª Because of the history of Apartheid – Human Rights f orms an important part of the
Constituti on (Ch apte r 2).
ª The Bill of Rights spells out very detailed and specific rights and responsibilities of all
citizens of the country. No right comes without responsibilities – the Constituti on and the
laws of the c ountry will protect you, but you have the responsi bility to uph old th ose laws
and the v alues e ntre nched i n that Constituti on.
ª Human rights are those basic and fundamental things that you are e ntitle d to just
because you belong to the human race. No one has any more or any less such rights. They
are also i nalie nable – me aning that they are yours f orever and cannot be taken away.
ª Among those rights stipulate d in the Bill of Rights are: equality, f reedom of
expression and associati on (trade unions), poli tical and property rights, housing, health
care, education, access to inf ormation, access to courts, children’s ri ghts, w oman’s
rights, h uman dignity, discrimination, right to life, free from vi olence of any ki nd, right to
privacy, free dom of reli gion, free dom of trade – occupati on – profession, labour re lati ons,
environmental issue s.
ª Human Rights Comm ission will assist citizens that h ave their rights violate d to approach
the Constitutional Court. The Commissi on also works at developing h uman ri ghts aware ness
amongst citizens and also advises government agencies and officials.
ª Lim itation Clause – sometimes it is necessary to limit certain rights as pe ople’s rights
might conflict e.g. I may have the right to freedom of expressi on, but if I exercise that
right in a way that thre atens your di gnity, th en it is alienati ng one of YOU R ri ghts. Secti on
36 of the Constitution lays down the strict conditi ons for these limitati ons.
INCLUSIV ITY:
ª Inclusivity is one of the basic rights in the Constitution – the right to have equal
opportunities and i nclusion in all aspects of lif e within South Afric a, and not to be
discriminated against.
ª Specific laws and actions were nee ded to re dress the problems of the past (Aparthei d) –
e.g. Skills Deve lopment Act that aims to provide traini ng and opportunities for all to
improve their skills and e arning capacity, EE Act, BBBEE Act, affirmative acti on etc.
SASHTI NOTES 1
, ª No disc riminati on or stere otyping agai nst race , disabilities or other me dical conditi ons (e.g.
AIDS) = same opportunities as eve ryone else.
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES:
ª Incre asing technology, growing populations, urbanizati on, incre ased polluti on etc. have led
to i ncreasi ng strains on our natural resources. Governme nt, businesse s and individuals all
need to work together to address these issue s and contri bute towards e nvironme ntal
management.
ª Section 24 of Ch apte r 2 of Constitution
© Everyone has the ri ght:
§ To an e nvironment that is not harmful to their health and wellbeing
§ To have the environme nt protecte d for the be nefit of present and future
generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures
§ Prevent pollution and ecological degradation
§ Promote conse rvati on
§ Secure ec ologically sustai nable developme nt and use of natural re sources
while promoti ng justifiable ec onomic and social development
ª Three principals relating to the environment are: (World Economic Forum)
© Supporting a precautionary approach to e nvironme ntal challenge s
© Undertaking initi atives to promote greate r e nvironme ntal aware ness
© Encouragi ng the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies
ª This is i n li ne with the King Reports, JSE SRI and Triple B ottom Line Reporting.
LABOUR RELATIONS ACT:
The Labour Relati ons Act (LRA) provi des the basic legal framework for the South African labour
relati ons system.
Purpose of the LRA
ª The main objectives of the LRA:
© to e nforce the f undame ntal ri ghts grante d by section 23 of the Constitution
© to e nforce SA’s international obli gati ons as a member of the Internati onal L abour
Organisati on
© to provide a f ramework f or c ollective bargaini ng between trade unions and
employers
© to promote effective resolution of labour disputes through employee participation i n
decision making i n the w orkforce
ª The LRA applies to eve ry employer and employee in every business in SA, e xcept members
of the National Defence Force, the National Intelligence Agency and the South
African Secret Serv ice.
ª The LRA governs or re gulate s the process of collective bargai ning.
ª The act also covers issues such as free dom of association, Trade Uni ons, strikes, lock
outs, dispute resolution to unf air labour prac tices including unf air dismissal.
Functions of Trade Unions and Em ployer Organisations
ª A trade union is any number of employees i n a partic ular undertaking, industry, trade or
occupation associate d togethe r for the purpose of regulating re lati ons in that
undertaking, industry, trade or occupati on be tween themselves or some of them and their
employers or some of their employe rs.
SASHTI NOTES 2
