The trade union movement has the opportunity to participate in the negotiations, policy development and implementation processes of the AFCFTA agreement and advance the decent work agenda on the continent.
The headline annual inflation rate decreased to 7.6% in August 2022 from 7.8% in July
2022.
The collective bargaining process comprises four main parts: preparation, negotiation, agreement and implementation. Know the steps to follow in each part of the process.
Trade unions have the power to develop and adopt plans to save jobs. Here are some strategies for unionists to consider
Convention 190 (C190) and the accompanying Recommendation No. 206 (R206) provide a common framework to stop violence and harassment in the world of work, including gender-based violence and harassment.
Convention 190 and Recommendation No. 206 provide a common framework to stop violence and harassment in the world of work, including gender-based violence and harassment. This ITUC guide offers workers and their representatives a basic introduction to the ILO instruments.
INTERVIEW: FEDUSA’s Social Policy Officer, Brenda Modise, speaks about the federation’s efforts to popularise its LGBTIQ+ resolution, as well as the lessons learned in promoting the rights of workers who are LGBTIQ+. The Labour Research Service supports the efforts of unions to negotiate for inclusivity and against discrimination.
Some basic recruiting strategies for organisers that want to bring women workers in the informal into the trade union.
Annual consumer inflation increased to 7.8% in July 2022 from 7.4% in June. Transport, food and non-alcoholic beverages, and housing and utilities continue to place considerable pressure on the annual rate. Bread and cereals, oils and fats, fuel and electricity contributed notably to the reading in July.
Domestic workers’ organisations have ramped up advocacy for access to UIF and COIDA so that all workers are covered for future crises.
The work of feeding millions of children must be seen as work deserving of recognition and value. We need decent jobs for volunteer food handlers.
August is women’s month in South Africa, a time when gender equality and women’s empowerment take centre stage. The Labour Research Service stands with worker organisations that work tirelessly to advance women’s right to decent work.
Our collection of facilitation exercises is suitable for use by worker organisations involved in participatory education activities.
This webinar is for working class leaders – gender coordinators, shop stewards, organisers, negotiators, and gender activists – that share a desire to protect and advance the right to equality for workers who are LGBTQ+.
12 key initiatives for mitigating the immediate negative impact of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) on women workers in Africa.
A step-by-step guide to negotiating for inclusivity and against discrimination in the trade union and the workplace.
Strategies that trade unions can adapt to be more influential in shaping and responding to the future of work.
The headline annual inflation rate increased to 7.4% in June 2022 from 6.5% in May 2022.
Lessons from a pilot social action initiative to reduce violence in a health institution in Gauteng.
In South Africa, the Labour Research Service supports volunteer food handlers in the National School Nutrition Programme to have their jobs made visible, recognised, valued and remunerated. Know more.
Our research shows real opportunities for Ghana to enhance its manufacturing capability and create jobs under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. But for businesses and citizens to fully benefit, stakeholders must address some immediate risks.
LRS Bargaining Benchmarks is for trade union negotiators. Our series of benchmarks will help the negotiator to enter into bargaining as an informed role player.
The mining and quarry sector recorded the highest percentage increase on actual wages in Q1 of 2022, at 8%. View our snapshot of wage settlements in selected sectors of South Africa’s economy.
Here is the experience of Joan Aja, Gender and Resource Mobilisation Officer at Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU).
The consumer price index accelerated to 6.5% in May 2022, from 5.9% in April.
In November, workers at Israeli-owned dairy company, Clover, went on a prolonged strike. In this video, Cynthia Joyce, National Sector Organiser at the Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU), notes four key lessons for worker organisations negotiating with foreign companies.
Trade unions work to protect the rights of all members, including those who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT). #PrideMonth2022
The Labour Research Service presented the first of a series of webinars on The Negotiators’ Guide to shop stewards, organisers and negotiators. View the webinar recording and resources.
Webinar presentation by Trenton Elsely, Executive Director of Labour Research Service. Get your copy.
16 examples of challenges that negotiators might encounter.
Trade Unions Going Green booklet seeks to encourage unions to initiate campaigns to address environmental issues in the workplace. The booklet will help to put unions in a position to engage in dialogue for sustainable development policies, while representing the interests and needs of workers.
Trade unions in the public sector want big changes in how the remuneration of their members is negotiated. In this video, HOSPERSA’s Chief Negotiator at the PSCBC, Suzan Ntlatleng, shares the key lessons learned during wage negotiations.
Digital technologies are reshaping the structure of the labour market and conditions of work. We can allow capital to do what it wants. Or we can start imagining a world where we set the parameters for what technology should be.
Seven steps to ensure decent work in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).
Coming out at work can be daunting and risky for many LGBT workers. Know how to come out in a way that is right and safe for you.
An essential resource for trade union negotiators and activists.
Collective negotiations can protect workers from the worst impacts of informalisation.
The Consumer Price Index remained at 5.9% in April 2022, unchanged from March.
Produced by Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS), this edition of The Real Economy Bulletin provides trends and data for GDP growth; employment; international trade; investment; FDI projects; and insights on the impact of the Ukraine war on South Africa’s economy and how to foster inclusive use of electric vehicles.
Understanding retrenchment law is a base upon which worker leaders can build strategies for saving jobs and supporting workers when retrenchments are unavoidable.
Trade unions are not powerless when it comes to influencing the future of work and shaping the reality of work.
The National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) is a government programme that alleviates poverty and ensures that children have the right to nutritious food that supports their ability to learn.
The trade union negotiator’s checklist for dealing with inflation in wage increases.
The headline annual inflation rate increased to 5.9% in March 2022, from 5.7% in February 2022. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 1.0% month-on-month in March 2022.
This report describes wage outcomes in 2021 found in collective agreements collected by the Labour Research Service. The report aims to inform strategy development in trade unions.
This report describes wage outcomes in 2021 found in collective agreements collected by the Labour Research Service. The report aims to inform strategy development in trade unions.
Trade unions can intervene and try to tackle problems in companies before a Section 189 notice is issued.
A framework for negotiating conditions at work, no matter where the workplace is located, no matter what the status of workers, and no matter how unorganised workers are.
From retrenchment and unfair dismissal to discrimination and a company that makes unilateral changes to the terms and conditions of employment of workers, which labour laws for which problems?
A trade union checklist if retrenchments seem unavoidable.
Annual consumer inflation held steady at 5. 7% in February 2022, unchanged from January. But food and transport prices put upward pressure on the monthly rate, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the goods increasing by 0.6% between January and February.
The process of negotiations forms the central part of collective bargaining. Here are the essential steps to follow.
Diverse coalitions hold great potential to further collective bargaining in a changing workplace. Learn the strategies for building successful alliances.
Collective bargaining can promote equity in the workplace and address the entrenched misconceptions about the role of women workers. Here’s how the trade union negotiator should approach the equity bargaining process.
This wage bargaining guide is for negotiators in all kinds of bargaining environments.
There are certain key steps to take when preparing for wage bargaining. From gathering information to developing positions to take into negotiations, learn how the effective negotiator approaches wage bargaining.
The difference between recruitment and organising comes down to what a worker is likely to think about, feel and do. Learn more about the differences.
The Consumer Price Index eased to 5.7% in January of 2022, from a near five-year high of 5.9% in December. Prices slowed for transport and health but rose faster for food, housing and utilities.
The MNC Trends Report of the Labour Research Service provides information on the performance, operations and governance of 81 JSE-listed South African multinational companies. Trade unions use the information to improve their strategies for bargaining, alliance building and campaigns.
This guide is for negotiators looking to renew their strategy and approach in the face of the ongoing reorganization of work, retrenchments and restructuring, and the increasing precariousness of being a worker.
The collective bargaining process comprises four main parts: Preparation, negotiation, agreement and implementation. Here are the steps to follow in each part of the process.
Recruitment and organising are two key processes in collective bargaining. Let’s recollect the differences between a worker that has been recruited and a worker that is organised through describing what each of these workers are thinking about, what feelings they might experience and how they might act.
Eight ideas for building solidarity in and through coalitions to further collective bargaining in your organisation.
16 common workplace challenges and the labour laws that could help you deal with the situations.
A way to think about conditions at work in relation to the collective agreement, and the benchmarks in South Africa’s labour law to help you establish a floor of minimum conditions. A must-read for worker leaders in more informal workplaces that are looking to establish minimum standards.
An in-depth guide that shows you how to build a wage, the different approaches to dealing with inflation, simple formulas for calculating percentages and money amounts, and how to communicate with workers.
Collective bargaining is an important tool for addressing structural gender inequities in the trade union and workplace. Here are the important terms to know, specific bargaining demands for gender equity and a guide to the bargaining process.
Know the words and terms to use when talking about equality, the legislation protecting workers from discrimination and how to support and protect LGBT members of the union.
Guidance on developing practical strategies for saving jobs at companies. Know how to: Identify the company in distress, decide on the most important interventions and minimise the impact of retrenchments when they are unavoidable.
An introduction to the concept of value chains and value chain mapping to connect with workers that informalisation might have hidden from view.
Trade union strategies to shape and respond to the Future of Work and automation.
The LRS Negotiator’s Guide provides strategies to inspire, organise and represent workers.
Seeking to connect and support women in precarious work to have their jobs made visible, recognised, valued and remunerated.
Devalued, invisible, exploited and undermined, volunteer food handlers in the National School Nutrition Programme seek to be recognised and valued as workers.
Trade union bargaining strategies in South African multinational companies: Revenue, profit and directors’ remuneration for the construction sector.
Trade union bargaining strategies in South African multinational companies: Revenue, profit and directors’ remuneration for the technology and telecommunication sector.
Trade union bargaining strategies in South African multinational companies: Revenue, profit and directors’ remuneration for the paper and packaging sector.
Trade union bargaining strategies in South African multinational companies: Revenue, profit and directors’ remuneration for the mining sector.
Trade union bargaining strategies in South African multinational companies: Revenue, profit and directors’ remuneration for the industrial sector.
Trade union bargaining strategies in South African multinational companies: Revenue, profit and directors’ remuneration for the hospitality sector.
Trade union bargaining strategies in South African multinational companies: Revenue, profit and directors’ remuneration for the health sector.
Trade union bargaining strategies in South African multinational companies: Revenue, profit and directors’ remuneration for the food and beverage sector.
Trade union bargaining strategies in South African multinational companies: Revenue, profit and directors’ remuneration for the diversified sector.
Trade union bargaining strategies in South African multinational companies: Revenue, profit and directors’ remuneration for the construction sector.
Trade union bargaining strategies in South African multinational companies: Revenue, profit and directors’ remuneration for the banking and financial services sector.
The annual consumer price inflation was 5.9% in December 2021, compared with 5.5% in November. It’s the highest recorded annual rate since March 2017, when it increased by 6.1%. Transport prices increased by a massive 16.8%, on the back of rising petrol and diesel prices.
An effective shop steward can identify key labour laws to support the union’s bargaining and organising activities.
The Consumer Price Index increased to 5.5% in November 2021, compared with 5% in October. That’s the biggest annual increase in almost 5 years. The transport category contributed the most to the inflation in November, recording an annual increase of 15%.
It’s time to Power Up! We need to build women’s voice and leadership and strengthen women-led movements to shift power and advance the rights of all women.
Through discussing issues close to their hearts, volunteer food handlers will see and articulate the important role they have in the National School Nutrition Programme and the school community.
Despite the complexities associated with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the risks for workers and communities within such large-scale trade liberalisation, trade unions lack a well-formulated policy position on the agreement. Trade Unions and Trade: A Guide to the African Continental Trade Agreement aims to assist unions in developing their policy positions and to engage with the AfCFTA processes with confidence.
The recent crime statistics released by the South African Police Service show Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is devastatingly pervasive. Lindelwe Nxumalo, Women’s Rights Programme Manager at ActionAid, offers some actions for ensuring a successful national response to GBV.
Sexual harassment in the workplace is manifesting in more subtle forms. Know more and protect your rights as a worker.
When stakeholders act collectively, it is possible to transform the norms, policies and practices that perpetuate gender-based violence in the workplace.
Trade union bargaining strategies in South African multinational companies: Revenue, profit and directors’ remuneration for the retail sector.
The Consumer Price Index came out unchanged at 5% compared to September. Food and transport costs are the biggest contributors to the rate, with the transport index increasing by 10.9% in October 2021 compared with October 2020. And the SARB has raised its main lending rate by 25 basis points to 3.75%, meaning the prime lending rate of commercial banks will increase to 7.25%.
Effective shop stewards use labour laws as a tool for organising.
The LRS Multinational Corporations (MNC) database tracks over 80 JSE-listed companies operating in 14 sectors. Find simplified financial information of the company. Monitor profit across the sector. Know how much the CEO was paid.
A guide for shop stewards on how to solve workers’ complaints and maintain strong workplace unions.
The impact of the pandemic on employment is worse than expected, says the International Labour Organisation in a new report.