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4 days ago
A personal perspective on parental leave
Trade unions must continue to demand adequate maternity protection, paid parental leave and other basic social protection measures for all working parents.
Category: Articles
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1 week ago
How reclaimers bargain | Struggles and successes of a worker organisation
Louis Mahlangu, Organiser at African Reclaimers Organisation (ARO), speaks about the organisation’s collective bargaining experience. ARO is the first to unite workers in South Africa’s landfills and streets.
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2 weeks ago
Research and strategy support for trade unions in Africa to engage in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) agreement
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.
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2 weeks ago
The essentials of collective bargaining in South Africa
The collective bargaining process comprises four main parts: preparation, negotiation, agreement and implementation. Know the steps to follow in each part of the process.
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3 weeks ago
Nine practical trade union strategies to save jobs
Trade unions have the power to develop and adopt plans to save jobs. Here are some strategies for unionists to consider
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1 month ago
What unions can do to make the protections in C190 possible
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.
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1 month ago
Finding a support system at work: My experience as a lesbian worker in the retail sector
“I came out at home and then I came out at work,” says Sanna Patricia Sekaule (49), whose story illustrates the importance of family support and acceptance, and bringing your whole self to the workplace.
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1 month ago
Working against discrimination and homophobia in the workplace
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.
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1 month ago
Tips for organising women in the informal economy
Some basic recruiting strategies for organisers that want to bring women workers in the informal into the trade union.
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2 months ago
Domestic workers demand better access to social protection
Domestic workers’ organisations have ramped up advocacy for access to UIF and COIDA so that all workers are covered for future crises.
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2 months ago
Volunteer Food Handlers are the hands and heart of the National School Nutrition Programme
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.
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2 months ago
Ten articles to read in August
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.
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2 months ago
RESOURCES: Creating cultures of gender equality in the trade union and workplaces
Our collection of facilitation exercises is suitable for use by worker organisations involved in participatory education activities.
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2 months ago
LRS WEBINAR: Negotiating for inclusivity and against discrimination
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+.
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2 months ago
Feminist visions of the future of women’s work in Africa
12 key initiatives for mitigating the immediate negative impact of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) on women workers in Africa.
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2 months ago
Workplace rights belong to everyone
A step-by-step guide to negotiating for inclusivity and against discrimination in the trade union and the workplace.
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2 months ago
Five trade union demands for mainstreaming gender in trade agreements
More action is needed to achieve equity, equality, non-discrimination and women empowerment in trade agreements. Here are five trade union demands for mainstreaming gender in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
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2 months ago
Healthcare workers at risk in a society that does not value the work of caring
Here’s how trade unions organising in the health sector can lead social action initiatives for ending violence in health facilities.
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2 months ago
Collective bargaining benchmarks in South Africa
The Labour Research Service update on collective bargaining benchmarks in South Africa looks at three factors: the national minimum wage, economic indicators and bargaining indicators.
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2 months ago
A trade union guide for negotiating the future of work
Strategies that trade unions can adapt to be more influential in shaping and responding to the future of work.
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3 months ago
LRS Inflation Monitor | June 2022
Our simplified version of what is happening with inflation in South Africa.
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3 months ago
Digital labour platforms subject global South workers to ‘algorithmic insecurity’
But platform workers are pushing back and demanding greater transparency and improved conditions.
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3 months ago
Power Up! consortium intends to transform power in three key areas
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.
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3 months ago
Strategies to inspire, organise and represent workers
An introduction to The LRS Negotiator’s Guide | A video presentation of the leading ideas from each of the chapters of the Guide.
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3 months ago
Can workers in Ghana’s manufacturing sector gain from the AfCFTA?
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.
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3 months ago
Bargaining Benchmarks | July 2022
LRS Bargaining Benchmarks publication is for trade union negotiators. Our series of benchmarks will help the negotiator to enter into bargaining as an informed role player.
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3 months ago
Industry wage settlements | Q1 2022
LRS Actual Wage Rates Database | Mining & quarry sectors gained the highest percentage increase on actual wages in Q1 of 2022. View our snapshot of wage settlements in selected sectors.
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3 months ago
Education unions build momentum to end violence in schools in the time of covid-19
Here is the experience of Joan Aja, Gender and Resource Mobilisation Officer at Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU).
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4 months ago
Annual Report | 2021
Over 30 years working for workers: See our programme work report for 2021 and financial statements.
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4 months ago
Trade union strategies for bargaining with foreign companies in South Africa
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.
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4 months ago
14 steps trade unions can take to prevent discrimination against LGBT workers
Trade unions work to protect the rights of all members, including those who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT). #PrideMonth2022
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4 months ago
LRS Webinar Series | Introducing The Negotiators’ Guide
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.
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4 months ago
Using the law to support bargaining strategies: Which labour law for which problem?
16 examples of challenges that negotiators might encounter.
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4 months ago
Trade unions going green: Negotiating on environmental issues in the world of work
The ‘Trade Unions Going Green’ booklet will inform trade unions about the potential of a just transition and provide practical information on how to ensure this for workers.
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4 months ago
Wage Bargaining | Four lessons from trade unions in the public sector
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.
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4 months ago
The Fourth Industrial Revolution: a seductive idea requiring critical engagement
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.
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4 months ago
What to do about the lack of labour provisions in the AfCFTA agreement
Seven steps to ensure decent work in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).
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4 months ago
Coming out at work: A practical guide for LGBT workers
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.
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4 months ago
A guide to negotiating for inclusivity and against discrimination in the trade union and the workplace
An essential resource for trade union negotiators and activists.
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5 months ago
Five tips for negotiating at informal economy forums
Collective negotiations can protect workers from the worst impacts of informalisation.
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5 months ago
A trade union guide to retrenchment law and processes
Understanding retrenchment law is a base upon which worker leaders can build strategies for saving jobs and supporting workers when retrenchments are unavoidable.
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5 months ago
Six bargaining strategies for the future
Trade unions are not powerless when it comes to influencing the future of work and shaping the reality of work.
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5 months ago
Workers’ Day 2022: In praise of worker leaders in South Africa and beyond
On this Workers’ Day, the Labour Research Service praises elected worker leaders and give a voice to these courageous comrades by sharing their stories of being a worker leader.
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6 months ago
What is happening with inflation, and what does it mean for wage negotiations?
The trade union negotiator’s checklist for dealing with inflation in wage increases.
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6 months ago
2021 wage bargaining review
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.
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6 months ago
Three steps to take and save jobs before the start of a retrenchment process
Trade unions can intervene and try to tackle problems in companies before a Section 189 notice is issued.
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6 months ago
What you need to know about negotiating better conditions at work
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.
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6 months ago
Five workplace problem scenarios and the labour laws to use
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?
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6 months ago
How unions can support workers facing retrenchment
A trade union checklist if retrenchments seem unavoidable.
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7 months ago
The implications of the Continental Free Trade Agreement for Africa’s development and the working class
Some key messages have emerged from our work with the trade union movement in Africa as it seeks to adopt strategies that promote developmental outcomes of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.
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7 months ago
How to improve your power at the bargaining table and win favourable agreements
The process of negotiations forms the central part of collective bargaining. Here are the essential steps to follow.
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7 months ago
Eight ways to build coalitions and make solidarity work in trade unions
Diverse coalitions hold great potential to further collective bargaining in a changing workplace. Learn the strategies for building successful alliances.
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7 months ago
How to approach the equity bargaining process
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.
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7 months ago
National minimum wage: Domestic workers reached equalisation. Now what?
This month domestic workers earned the national minimum wage after a long struggle for equalisation. “What we now need is enough follow-through,” says Pinky Mashiane, Founder and United Domestic Workers of South Africa. Read more…
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7 months ago
How to build a wage demand and calculate percentages and money amounts
This wage bargaining guide is for negotiators in all kinds of bargaining environments.
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7 months ago
11 steps you should take to prepare for wage bargaining
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.
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8 months ago
Recruitment vs. Organising: What’s the difference?
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.
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8 months ago
MNC Trends Report | 2021
Trade unions use our company research to improve their strategies for bargaining, alliance building and campaigns. The 2021 Multinational Corporations (MNC) Trends report attempts to make sense of the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic in twelve key sectors of the economy.
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8 months ago
The Negotiator’s Guide – A guide to negotiating in a changing workplace
The LRS Negotiator’s Guide provides strategies to inspire, organise and represent workers.
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8 months ago
Trade union bargaining strategies in South African multinational companies: Sector and company performance
Our analysis of the revenue, profits and executive pay in JSE-listed companies provides trade unions with information to improve their strategies for bargaining, alliance building and campaigns.
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9 months ago
The labour laws every worker representative in South Africa should know
An effective shop steward can identify key labour laws to support the union’s bargaining and organising activities.
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9 months ago
A trade union guide to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA)
What you will learn: why unions should be concerned about the AfCFTA; how to identify and advocate for proper labour provisions in trade agreements; and what it will take to create decent work within the AfCFTA.
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10 months ago
Bargaining Benchmarks | December 2021
Five bargaining benchmarks every trade union negotiator should know. The benchmarks will help you to enter bargaining processes as an informed role player.
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10 months ago
What will it take to create a successful national response to GBV in South Africa?
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.
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10 months ago
We need more resources and collaboration to tackle GBV
Nontyatyambo Makapela, Programme Officer at Sister Love International South Africa, reflects on how GBV is a barrier to women’s full participation in the economy and the need for building resilient and sustainable support organisations.
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10 months ago
Ten trade union arguments for a just energy transition in Africa
A just transition involves climate action that provides decent jobs and less hardship for workers and their communities.
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11 months ago
How to deal with sexual harassment in the workplace
Sexual harassment in the workplace is manifesting in more subtle forms. Know more and protect your rights as a worker.
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11 months ago
Addressing gender-based violence in the workplace
When stakeholders act collectively, it is possible to transform the norms, policies and practices that perpetuate gender-based violence in the workplace.
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11 months ago
Retail sector report 2021
This report provides trade unions with strategic research that will improve their bargaining with big retail companies. Find simplified financial information on the company. Know how much the CEO earned. Compare profits. Know the impact of Covid-19.
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11 months ago
Seven steps to ensure decent work in trade agreements
The African Continental Free Trade Area agreement does not include labour provisions or references to the creation of decent work. Here’s how trade unions can argue for inclusion.
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11 months ago
Using labour laws in union bargaining: 12 possible workplace scenarios
Effective shop stewards use labour laws as a tool for organising.
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11 months ago
The LRS MNC database: Keeping multinational companies in Africa accountable
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.
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11 months ago
Workplace grievances: 10 steps to handle them effectively
A guide for shop stewards on how to solve workers’ complaints and maintain strong workplace unions.
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11 months ago
The world of work and Covid-19: Six important things to know
The impact of the pandemic on employment is worse than expected, says the International Labour Organisation in a new report.
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12 months ago
Bargaining at company level: A basic guide for shop stewards
Learn a step-by-step approach to successful bargaining at the company level. #goingbacktobasics
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1 year ago
Why what men think of women matters in addressing gender based violence
Focus on changing male thought patterns that drive gender-based violence and femicide to change violent behaviour towards females.
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1 year ago
A decent standard of living costs R7 911
The Decent Standard of Living measure offers us a fresh way of looking at the living wage. This measure defines what makes a decent standard of living and it is made of the perceptions of our people. This measure is based on a set of 34 socially perceived necessities for a decent life. If you have these things, you have a decent standard of living.
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1 year ago
Bargaining Benchmarks | September 2021
Our series of benchmarks will help trade union negotiators to enter into bargaining processes as informed role players.
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1 year ago
Towards a partnership of equals: Lessons learned in transnational solidarity
The keystone to international solidarity is crafting a concerted response to the power relationship which invariably underlies all acts of solidarity.
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1 year ago
Are we ready for platform co-operatives in South Africa?
Can worker-owned co-operatives get a grip on the digital economy and contribute to helping our communities end their socio-economic struggles?
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1 year ago
Organising and empowering young women workers
Our range of resources address the key workplace issues for young women workers and are useful for the union that wants to tap into the creativity and energy that empowered young women members can bring to the organisation.
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1 year ago
Effective information management in trade unions: Four possible measures to try
Unions can benefit from a more conscious approach to managing collective bargaining agreements information.
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1 year ago
Bargaining with a gender equity lens – A resource for trade union facilitators and trainers
Our facilitation exercise will strengthen the ability of workshop participants to understand concepts and have the confidence to bargain with a gender equity lens. Get your copy.
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1 year ago
The economic cost of sexual harassment in the workplace
As South Africa celebrates Women’s Month, Johan Botes of Baker McKenzie explores the findings of a new report highlighting the economic costs of sexual harassment and suggests ways in which the situation could be changed.
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1 year ago
Value chain analysis as a tool for renewing trade union organising and bargaining strategies
Effective trade unions act at the local, sectoral and global levels. Learn the four elements to value chain mapping.
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1 year ago
How I deal with the pain of others
As an educator and facilitator in the Gender Equality Programme of Labour Research Service, I am exposed to human trauma often. Here’s my advice on how to be more resilient.
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1 year ago
Bargaining Monitor – Wage outcomes in the past six months
Despite the state of the economy and the Covid-19 health crisis, unions have managed to negotiate above-inflation wage increases.
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1 year ago
Resources for union facilitators and trainers
It’s proven that exercises and games activate our senses and increase creative learning of new concepts and understanding of ideas. Our collection of facilitation exercises will help trainers involved in participatory education activities for workers.
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1 year ago
10 key findings from the 2021 Global Rights Index
Abuses of the right to strike, the right to establish and join a trade union, the right to trade union activities and civil liberties and the right to free speech and assembly are at an eight-year high, according to the ITUC’s annual Global Rights Index.
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1 year ago
Health and safety training manual for union educators
This training manual can be used to support shop stewards in ensuring safety at the workplace during the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond.
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1 year ago
Everything you need to know about strikes
Produced by Workers’ World Media Productions, this booklet is the complete guide to winning strikes. You’ll learn the strike laws and rights, tactics for strike organisers and anticipating the responses of bosses.
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The future of retail in Zambia – How are workers affected by technological changes?
Vasco Mainza, Regional Chairperson of the National Union of Commercial and Industrial Workers says the union is particularly alarmed by the increasing uptake of flexible work in retail.
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1 year ago
Bargaining with South African multinational companies – Shoprite Checkers
INFOGRAPHIC: A quick recap of Shoprite’s finances 2020 and going into 2021.
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1 year ago
Trade union collective bargaining strategies for 2021
The LRS trade union collective bargaining strategy input looks at the minimum wage and settlement trends; the impact of Covid-19 on the economy and collective bargaining; the 2021 bargaining round; and bargaining for the future.
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1 year ago
Pride at Work
A study on discrimination at work on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in South Africa. #PrideMonth
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1 year ago
Worker rights: Wages and conditions of employment
A shop steward’s guide to finding out who is covered by bargaining council agreements, sectoral determinations and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
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1 year ago
The future of retail in Kenya – How are retail workers affected by technological changes?
Mike Oranga, Assistant Secretary General of the Kenya Union of Commercial, Food and Allied Workers (KUCFAW) says more workers are employed as “flexi-timers” and may struggle to adapt to new technologies.
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1 year ago
Wage calculator – New LRS online tool for workers
Our new wage calculator will tell you how much a percentage increase is an amount of money and help you understand the effect of inflation on the wage increase.
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1 year ago
Organising strategies: Using a global framework agreement to organise Shoprite workers
Can a global framework agreement help a union to organise? For Swaziland Commercial and Allied Workers Union, the answer is a resounding yes.
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1 year ago
Trade union bargaining strategies in South African multinational companies
Trade union bargaining strategies in South African multinational companies: A review of revenue, profits and directors’ fees in the transport sector.
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