Cosatu claims victory in court's collective bargaining verdict

08 May 2016 - 02:00 By NOMPUMELELO MAGWAZA

Cosatu has hailed a labour judgment in the High Court in Pretoria this week as a "huge victory" for workers. The case, brought by the Free Market Foundation, pitted the foundation against Cosatu, other trade unions, and the ministers of labour, justice and constitutional development.At stake was whether the agreements reached in bargaining councils should be extended to organisations that were not party to such agreements.The foundation brought an application opposing the concept, but the court ruled against the application.The foundation said the extension of bargaining-council agreements would victimise those who were non-parties and would harm the economy.A bargaining council is a statutory body that brings trade unions and employer organisations together to arrange collective agreements, solve labour disputes, establish various schemes and make proposals on labour policies and laws.block_quotes_start South Africa needs is to strengthen collective bargaining and develop policies and regulatory frameworks block_quotes_endNon-parties are employers who are not part of any industry agreements and employees who are not members of trade unions.Cosatu said that if the foundation's application had succeeded, it would have made collective-bargaining agreements redundant "because they will not be binding on all employers in the sector".For the past three years the foundation has challenged the constitutionality of Section 32 of the Labour Relations Act which provides for the minister of labour to impose private bargaining agreements on non-parties.The foundation said extending collective-bargaining agreements to non-parties was collusive and uncompetitive.The case was dismissed without costs to the foundation. The court said the application had the best intentions."Our country prides itself in the promotion of a strong civil society," it said.story_article_left1The foundation described the judgment as a "pyrrhic victory" for the opposing parties because it did not support their view that they should have the power "to force the minister to extend self-serving contracts that discriminate against their rivals".The court said the foundation's objectives could be achieved without changing Section 32 by subjecting labour law to administrative justice.It said that the extension of bargaining-council agreements was subject to the administrative justice clause in the constitution known as the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act.According to the judgment, non-parties can be exempted from the bargaining-council agreements at the minister's discretion.Cosatu said it had always insisted that the foundation's analysis was misconceived because bargaining councils were not private bodies exercising power."What South Africa needs is to strengthen collective bargaining and develop policies and regulatory frameworks to promote wage equity, and align centralised bargaining with industrial and economic development strategies," Cosatu said.The foundation said that it was still considering whether it would appeal the court's decision...

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