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Strikes & Negotiations

Public sector strikes

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:47

By Bruno Bruniquel

Appeasement is feeding the crocodile in the hope he will eat you last: Winston Churchill

Six years ago in September 2005 I commented on the Public Service strikes: “Watching this month’s news, a person could be forgiven for believing he or she was in a time warp! Municipal workers overturning rubbish bins and damaging property; angry workers battling the police and in turn being tear gassed and shot with rubber bullets; assaults on non-strikers, journalists and members of the public; even the murder of a non-striker. Are we going back in time?!”

It seems as if we are indeed in a time warp. The above comments could have been written in respect of the recent national strike by municipal workers. The difference is that municipal workers are now reasonably well paid for what they do in relation to employees in the private sector and especially in relation to their levels of productivity.

Poor service delivery

Municipalities are under fire for poor service delivery. Some are bankrupt while in others, residents refuse to pay rates and have set up parallel systems to keep basic services going (much to the annoyance of the Minister of Finance!). Centralised bargaining is also not helping when it is clear that some municipalities are financially better off than others.

Look to management

If workers in a business keep on striking, one has to look to the management. If bosses (particularly public sector bosses) can be paid huge salaries and five and six figure bonuses (despite poor service delivery), we must not be surprised when workers react angrily when offered increases of six percent on what is in most cases, a low base anyway.

On the other hand, it is also important not to reward people for undesired behaviour. The fact that every year public sector negotiators cave in to demands, reinforces strike behaviour. “If they don’t meet our demands we will strike.” And so the pattern of strikes continues – six years later we are still reading the same headlines!

It is said that only a fool keeps doing the same things expecting different results.

Put productivity on the bargaining table

Management in the public sector needs to begin by putting some demands on the table:-

• PRODUCTIVITY from workers in exchange for a decent salary or wage. They must stop tolerating poor performance and unacceptable conduct in the workplace. They must make people earn a decent living!

• ACCEPTABLE CONDUCT during strikes. Strikers parading around with sticks and overturning dustbins is simply not acceptable. The culprits identified should be subject to disciplinary action including dismissal.

The Code of Good Practice on Picketing requires that in the event of a protected strike, the union concerned may organise a picket. In such event, the registered trade union must appoint a convenor to oversee the picket. The convenor must at all times during the picket have a copy of Section 69 of the Act and a copy of the guidelines on picketing. The union must also appoint marshals to monitor the picket and these marshals should wear armbands to identify themselves. The trade union should instruct the marshals on the law, picketing rules and the steps to ensure that the picket is conducted peacefully.

Although the picket may be held in any place to which the public has access, picketers may not interfere with the constitutional rights of other persons. They must conduct themselves in a peaceful unarmed and lawful manner. While they may carry placards, chant slogans and sing and dance, picketers may not physically prevent members of the public, other employees and service providers from gaining access to or from leaving the employer’s premises. They may also not commit any action which may be unlawful, including, but not limited to any action which is, or which may be perceived to be violent.

The following extract from Independent on Line on 28 September 2011 makes interesting reading:

Union can be liable for strike damage

The Supreme Court of Appeal has found that trade unions can be held liable for damage caused by workers during strikes. I the judgement on Tuesday, which upheld an earlier ruling by the Western Cape High Court, Justice MohomedNavsa wrote that the country “could not be subjected to the tyranny of the mob.” “In the past the majority of the population was subjected to the tyranny of the state,” the Cape Times newspaper quoted Navsa as saying.

“We cannot now be subjected to the tyranny of the mob.” The High Court ruling favoured eight people, including traders whose stalls were looted and smashed and motorists whose vehicles were wrecked, during a SA Transport and Allied Workers Union protest in the Cape Town city centre in May 2006.

The group is claiming R70,000 in damages.

Advocate Anton Katz, who took on the case pro bono with advocate Darryl Cooke and attorney Amanda Torr, welcomed the ruling, saying it would have “major implications” for other incidents where people's property had been damaged as a result of organised protests.

The matter was initially head by Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe who ruled in favour of the eight applicants. - Sapa

• DEPOSIT TO COVER COMPENSATION FOR DAMAGES during strikes. Unions who stand by while workers misconduct themselves during strikes should be held accountable for damages incurred. The perpetrators should not only be dismissed from employment but they should be criminally prosecuted as well! If such incidents are allowed to go unpunished, they will reoccur again and again.

Management should demand that unions who have a history of violent strikes should make a deposit upfront, before any strike or protest action is embarked upon.

• CHANGES TO THE DISCIPLINARY SYSTEM. The LRA sets out guidelines for the handling of disciplinary matters. However, this bears little resemblance to the disciplinary procedure followed by municipalities which is far too legalistic and onerous. This results in only the most severe cases of misconduct being properly addressed. This needs to be urgently addressed if we are to expect service delivery. Wage negotiations are the ideal time to seek changes as they can be traded.

Unfortunately all too often, short term political expediency gets in the way of what is right. We all make mistakes from time to time but we need to learn from them! Judging from recent events neither management nor strikers have learned much. This points to poor governance and mismanagement. Strikes are seldom about money only – there are usually underlying issues which need to be identified and addressed. These include lack of communication, poor leadership, lack of discipline in the ranks and unresolved grievances.

If the strikes continue in the public sector as they have done, it is clear that Management are not doing their jobs. This being the case, there can be no justification for paying ‘market related’ salaries. It is high time that some of the ‘fat cats’ were made accountable for their abysmal performance!