The culture of negotiation over the last couple of years has returned to similar levels of adversarialism experienced during apartheid, labour department’s Director-General, Nkosinathi Nhleko, said in Sandton, Johannesburg, this week.
He was speaking to the media on the side-lines of the Mining Lekgotla conference about the labour relations landscape facing the country amidst the wage round which is often called the “strike season".
The three-day indaba has brought together industry players as well as unions at a time when tensions in the sector seem to be rising by the day over wages, amendments to the Labour Relations Bill and other conditions of employment.
“The parties are taking positional approaches to the negotiations, which allow little scope to deal with the real issues facing them. As government, we have taken these challenges posed by industrial relations seriously and have taken eminence at the highest level – hence the Peace Accord – the Framework agreement and the proposed labour relations indaba to be held before the end of year.
The DG also said the country has also witnessed inter-union disputes and unprotected strike actions which are “at the heart of inter-union rivalry, particularly in the mining sector.’’
He said social partners should play their part to end this conflict and identify measures to strengthen labour relations as well as social dialogue in order to achieve labour market stability and peace.
Nhleko told the indaba that “in recent times, matters of leadership, management of industrial relations, attacks on collective bargaining culture and social dialogue have taken a sharp focus.’’
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