In comparing those of our corporate clients which have poor employee relations with those where industrial relations are sound it is clear that, for the most part, the factor which makes the difference is the quality and breadth of IR skills held by the employer’s IR professionals, line management and external consultants.

A case in point is that of SALSTAFF obo Bezuidenhout vs Metrorail (2001 BALR 926). Here the arbitrator found that the employee had been forced to resign due to disciplinary charges brought against him. The employer dismissed the employee before his notice period was up but the arbitrator found that there was no good reason to have dismissed him. This convinced the arbitrator that the employee had been justified in resigning in order to avoid an unfair disciplinary hearing. The dismissal was found to be unfair.

Such victimisation would not have occurred in a company where the management fully understood the principles of fairness, labour legislation and the basics of constructive industrial relations.

The modern employer also needs to realise that now days it is not only shop floor employees belonging to unions who challenge management decisions. The main reason for this that the Labour Relations Act (LRA) makes statutory dispute resolution procedures far more accessible to employees (whether unionised or not) than ever before.

In addition, the nature of the world of work is changing radically and rapidly. Fewer employees are required on the shop floor in this new age of technology while, on the other hand, more and more higher skilled employees are found in office buildings operating computers.

Employees at all levels, from unskilled workers through skilled technicians to top management are receiving relief from the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). This is because, largely due to word of mouth, employees across the spectrum are aware that, for little or no cost, they can bring a case against an employer who has treated them unfairly. Unfortunately, the CCMA does not have a mechanism to screen out many of those nonsense cases which should never have been referred there. The result is that any employer can, at the most unexpected moment, be taken to the CCMA.

I am not recommending that every little employment problem be referred to the CCMA. On the contrary, the CCMA should be allowed by employers, unions and employees to deal only with the genuine and more serious labour disputes so that it may put its overburdened resources to the best use.

If the financial manager or sales manager is properly trained in labour law and industrial relations he/she is not going to land up every few weeks at the CCMA because the switchboard operator was offended by an impatient remark. The CCMA will then be utilised in the way that it should be, that is, only as a last resort.

ln what specific skills must line managers and supervisors be trained? The most urgent areas of need are:

• The background to the implementation of the LRA
• The purpose and scope of the LRA
• The huge scale of the changes in labour law and the significance of these changes for the company/organisation in general
• The significance of these changes for the specific manager’s area of responsibility and for the effectiveness of the manager/supervisor
• How managers/supervisors can detect and correct the misconceptions of employees as regards the provisions of labour law concerning employee rights and employer responsibilities
• The changes in company/organisational policy, procedures and practices necessitated by the new employment equity laws. For example, the employer’s policies and practices with regard to recruitment and selection, discipline, grievance handling, promotion, training and cut backs will have to be radically altered, and managers and supervisors must understand these changes in order to have a chance of implementing them effectively.
• How to go about implementing all the necessary changes in such a way that stable industrial relations are maintained with all categories of employee and in such a way that they do not involve the employer in unnecessary legal costs.

As mentioned earlier, employees are receiving ongoing input on the LRA and other labour law as well as on how they can exploit these laws. This input is received via union meetings, rumour, union training programmes, political rallies and reading matter. Some of this information may be incorrect but employees are nevertheless being emboldened through this knowledge acquisition. Managers who do not likewise keep up with the necessary IR knowledge and skills could be seriously jeopardising the organisation’s future.

Line managers and supervisors must ensure that they have updated knowledge and skills if they want to develop a loyal, cooperative, correctly informed and effective workforce at all levels.

Written by lvan lsraelstam, Chief Executive of Labour Law Management Consulting. He may be contacted on (011) 888-7944 or 0828522973 or on e-mail address: ivan@labourlawadvice.co.za. Web Address: www.labourlawadvice.co.za.

This article first appeared in The Star.