Issued by: Ministry of Labour
THE CCMA: A KEY INSTITUTION FOR DISPUTE RESOLUTION
STATEMENT BY MR. TITO MBOWENI, MINISTER OF LABOUR, AT THE PUBLIC PRESENTATION OF THE CCMA ANNUAL REPORT CAPE TOWN, 5 JUNE 1997.
Today we present to you the Annual Report of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (the CCMA). As required by the Labour Relations Act, I have to submit to Parliament an Annual Report of the CCMA. This report details the work and activities of the CCMA since its establishment last year.
The CCMA is one of the most central of institutions created by the Labour Relations Act. Others of significance are: workplace forums, bargaining councils, statutory councils, the Labour Courts and the Essential Services Committee. All these are established as part of an overall set of articulated institutions to bring about a better system of labour relations in the country, one that makes a contribution to economic development, growth, workplace stability and democratisation.
The LRA as you know, is about facilitating collective workplace relationships. It is within this context that the role of the CCMA is of import, i.e., to assist, inter alia, in the resolution of disputes at the workplace.
The CCMA came into operation in November 1996. And since it opened its doors to the public, the CCMA has already established a good record for itself, thereby giving immense credibility to the systems under the LRA. The CCMA is now highly regarded as an efficient, simple and cost effective mechanism.
The CCMA's core functions are to:
It also has discretionary functions to:
From 11 November to 31 December 1996 the CCMA dealt with 1 380 disputes over which it had jurisdiction. Of these it conciliated 1 244 cases, of which 1 064 settled - a settlement rate of 86 per cent. The disputes referred to the CCMA came from all sectors, with no one standing out as particularly prone to disputes.
Significantly, domestic and agriculture sector disputes accounted for seven per cent of cases and individual dismissals constituted the bulk of cases. Larger disputes which the CCMA settled included the national motor transport strike and a three-week strike involving 20 tea estates in the Northern Province and KwaZulu-Natal.
The Labour Relations Act places a statutory obligation on the CCMA to conciliate disputes within 30 days but provision is made for extending this period if the parties to the dispute agree. CCMA Commissioners are also able to decide the process which would best resolve the dispute. This may include mediation, conducting a fact-finding exercise or making an advisory arbitration award. The new conciliation process encourages the parties in dispute to take an active part in finding solutions and the basis for settlement.
Arbitrations, conducted by the CCMA in terms of the Labour Relations Act, also have advantages over formal court proceedings. The arbitration procedure is less formal, rules about evidence are more relaxed, the process is less adversarial than is the case in court proceedings and a final and binding decision is made quite quickly. The CCMA completed 17 arbitrations, of which about 90 per cent were unfair dismissal cases.
Besides conciliating and arbitrating disputes, the CCMA has played a facilitative role in offering advice and training on aspects of the Labour Relations Act to the Gauteng Department of Health and the National Union of Mineworkers, among others.
It has also helped to establish the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council, which covers the whole public service. One of the tasks which the Labour Relations Act requires the CCMA to perform is to facilitate the establishment of the council and to help parties reach agreement on its constitution. A draft constitution for the council was drawn up and presented to parties in November and negotiations on this issue are continuing.
To the CCMA also falls the task of overseeing the work of the Essential Services Committee. This committee's tasks are to determine which services should be designated as essential or as maintenance services. Workers in these services are not entitled to strike, in terms of the Labour Relations Act. While the Act designated Parliamentary Services and the police as essential services, the Essential Services Committee must investigate other services to determine which should be designated as essential or maintenance services.
Much of the CCMA's success in dispute resolution may be attributed to the zeal with which commissioners are carrying out their work and to the co-operation they are receiving from employees and employers.
As we present this report to you today, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to the Commissioners and staff of the CCMA for the dedication they have shown to their work. I would also like to thank Peter Harris and Charles Nupen who steered this institution through its early establishment days thus laying the foundations of what we have come to know as the CCMA.
I have no doubt in my mind that the CCMA as an institution is still in its development phase. There are bound to be many difficulties in that process. But I appeal to all the staff and focused on their primary mandate as we work through other difficulties which can best be described as those of a society in radical transformation from Apartheid to a non-racial and humane one.
May I now introduce to you the Director of the CCMA, Mr Charles Nupen, who will take you through the report in some detail.
Thank you very much.