(CCMA): Celebrating a decade of trouble shooting
27 November 2006
Think of any industrial dispute, and chances are the word CCMA automatically
springs to mind. Such is the way the institution has touched the lives of many
South Africans over the past decade that protagonists in any industrial
dispute, naturally consider the CCMA their first port of call.
As the body celebrates ten years of free, accessible industrial dispute
resolution service this month, social partner's organised labour, business and
government doubtlessly attest to the institution's centrality to amicable
solutions, not to mention its efficiency as the country's prime industrial
trouble-shooting device.
The 1,3 million high and low profile cases that the CCMA has handled since
its 1996 inception bear testimony as to how South Africans across the labour
market spectrum value the work of their collective brainchild.
Records show that an average 500 new referrals are dealt with every working
day, with a monthly processing of 10 000 cases. One only needs to think of such
major disputes as the recent massive security guards' strike, the 2004
six-month long airport workers' strike and the 1,6 million-strong public
service strike of the same year, among others, whose settlement only came about
with the influence and intervention of the CCMA.
A household name by any standards, even individual prominent figures such as
former Premier Soccer League Chief Executive, Joe Ndlela, former Johncom Chief,
Jacob Modise, and former South African Football Association boss, Albert
Mokoena, have at one stage had their respective disputes settled through the
intervention of this independent statutory body.
Functioning under the provisions of the Labour Relations Act, the CCMA is
easily one of the country's largest social institutions and had come about with
the ushering in of the new political dispensation entailing a government of
national unity in 1994.
In line with the sense of unity and reconciliation that the new order was
striving to achieve, the CCMA's main objective and mandate remains being that
of promoting social justice and equality by delivering speedy, free, and
affordable quality dispute resolution services.
The current 70 percent overall average with which the institution settles
its cases is a far cry from the 17 percent that its predecessor, the Industrial
Court used to handle.
The current status quo ensures that the low case settlement rate that had
become synonymous with inaccessible settlement procedures, where cases could
continue indefinitely, has become a thing of the past.
In fact 56 percent of Industrial Court cases had not been attended to when
the CCMA opened its doors, and some of those cases are still unprocessed today.
Also gone with that era are days of non-regulation of the industrial market for
the right to strike and recourse to lock-out, as is currently the case.
Lest one is blinded by the high case-settlement of the CCMA, it has never
been smooth sailing as the body's financial and capacity challenges have been
steadily mounting and hampering its operations. The recent strike by some of
the CCMA's own staff members must have served as a culmination of resource and
skills shortage problems.
In its 2005/06 annual report, the CCMA says the R208 576 566 of government
funding received in three batches was just insufficient for an expenditure that
increases at a rate of more than 10 percent per annum.
Given the CCMA's role in the labour market, operational decisions of the
institute have often been influenced by factors both external and from within,
particularly debates regarding concerns about the body's "over-proceduralism."
The high number of out-of-jurisdiction referrals due to the fact that the
public sees the CCMA as the prime dispute resolution machinery, continues
unabated and poses challenges for corrective measures. Impartial by its nature
and by law requirement, the CCMA's sphere of operation spans from dispute
prevention and management to dispute resolution and institution building.
Processes traditionally associated with dispute resolution are those of
conciliation, arbitration, facilitation and pre-conciliation. These simple,
more effective user-friendly processes ensure that instead of having to travel
long distances, members of the public get these services brought to them in the
form of CCMA hearings being held in practically every major centre in the
country.
Celebratory activities that include a new logo and slogan, "Revolutionise
Workplace Relations," will to come to a head with a gala dinner in Johannesburg
tonight, with Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana delivering a keynote
address. Given the trust and expertise that the CCMA has built over the past
decade, emphasising the importance of pragmatic resolution of differences, it
is easy to believe the entity can look forward to even greater achievements
over the next decade.
Enquiries:
Mokgadi Pela
Cell: 082 808 2168
Issued by: Department of Labour
27 November 2006
