Harmonising the workplace
The CCMA helps to facilitate mutual harmony during labour disputes
THE Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) opened in 1996 to manage and adjudicate disputes at the workplace.
The idea was to give a portal to disputing parties to mediate their disputes and bring labour peace to the workplace.
In those early days, I started representing small trade unions who were trying their utmost to ensure that employers followed fair and reasonable labour practices.
Many employers refused to go through any sort of disciplinary enquiries and often dismissed trade union members without any good reason. Many employers became serial offenders and for some reason or other chose not to follow the labour legislation. This story was repeated in the bargaining councils and many of the same names were noted.
The CCMA set up a dispute prevention department which appointed and trained commissioners to intervene and facilitate labour peace and to ensure that disputes were brought to a minimum.
I have received some interesting stories about how this intervention has had a major success at some of the most recalcitrant workplaces.
In one particular transport company, the workplace was plagued by unprotected strikes, work stoppages and numerous disputes.
They faced a national strike and it appeared that these ongoing disputes were exhausting the company’s resources and management time.
It also affected their ability to transport employees of other companies which was affecting business in that city.
The dispute prevention commissioner held numerous meetings between the unions in the workplace and management and had team-building sessions including every bus driver who was exposed to communication skills, stress management, presentation skills, personality type analysis and conflict management skills.
The involvement of internal human resource departments brought together an integrated performance management system.
The CCMA devoted an enormous amount of time, energy and expertise in ensuring that the relationship of the exercise developed the employers’ current disciplinary codes and procedures which is still in place today. This strategy map was co-created by top management and members of the board with input from the unions who were viewed as a critical part in ensuring that the organisation functioned sustainably.
The CCMA stated “paradoxically, top management gave away power to get more power. Different workplace forums were formed”.
It was wonderful to see that decision-making powers were allocated for the forums with the emphasis on training. A deadlock and dispute process was compiled.
The rights of the union and of management were agreed upon. Miraculously the agenda of the union is not only salaries and discipline as the union forms part of the disciplinary and dispute resolution process and also partakes in the joint management union forum where collective agreements are discussed. The conversation shifted away from us and them to “we are in this together”.
This exercise led to other interventions in building workplace relations including workshops and facilitated processes. A task team dealing with collective bargaining was set up together with a task team dealing with government matters.
As the success of the CCMA facilitators grows in reputation, we find that employers are approaching them on a more regular basis.
Employers ranging from small businesses to parastatals and even municipalities are seeking out ways and means of restoring healthy and harmonious relationships between the parties.
This harmonious relationship leads to effective and efficient functioning of facilities which will benefit not only the role-players but also the public.
A special thanks ought to go to William Thomson, Hilton Mudau and Gilbert Ludaka. They have been very careful to ensure that the facilitation leads to great consequential management and when applying discipline, it would be fair without favour and without prejudice.
Some of the benefits have gone far beyond the improvement of workplace relationships but have promoted functional efficiency and effectiveness of the business.
Once the facilitators have moved on to the next operation they leave a healthy, productive and harmonious workplace. The systems set up don’t stop but continue.
They have fostered co-determination in the workplace with the aim of fewer disputes and certainly less need for the CCMA.
Although we have a long way to go in order to grow stability and economic growth in the country, I strongly believe that the initiatives implemented by the CCMA will go a long way towards improving workplace relations.