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“We are no longer just fighting for a decent wage. We are fighting to keep the right to collective bargaining,” says trade unions protesting the government’s move to push through below-inflation wage increase.
Eight ideas for building solidarity in and through coalitions to further collective bargaining in your organisation.
The highest percentage increase on actual wages in Q3 of 2019 was recorded in the mining, quarrying, financing, insurance, real estate and business services industries, at 9%.
The highest percentage increase on actual wages in Q3 of 2018 was recorded in mining and quarrying industries, at 9%.
The annual MNC Trends Report provides key information concerning the performance, operations and governance of JSE-listed South African multinational companies operating in Africa.
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Six actions that unions can take to build and improve their strategies for ending gender-based violence in their contexts.
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The delisting of Massmart is bad news for workers and unions at the retail company.
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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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What do we mean by ‘industry 4.0’, ‘future of work’, ‘fourth industrial revolution and ‘gig economy? Know the key terms in shaping and negotiating the future of work.
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What will it take to create collaboration among community stakeholders to advocate for the recognition and valuing of the work of volunteer food handlers?
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The Tunis declaration, adopted on 27 September by trade unions from 39 African countries, stresses the inclusion of labour provisions in the AfCFTA agreement to ensure compliance with international labour standards and the decent work agenda.
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Trade unions must continue to demand adequate maternity protection, paid parental leave and other basic social protection measures for all working parents.
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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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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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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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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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“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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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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Some basic recruiting strategies for organisers that want to bring women workers in the informal into the trade union.
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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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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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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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A step-by-step guide to negotiating for inclusivity and against discrimination in the trade union and the workplace.
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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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But platform workers are pushing back and demanding greater transparency and improved conditions.
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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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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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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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Here is the experience of Joan Aja, Gender and Resource Mobilisation Officer at Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU).
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Over 30 years working for workers: See our programme work report for 2021 and financial statements.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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Seven steps to ensure decent work in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).
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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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An essential resource for trade union negotiators and activists.
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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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Trade unions are not powerless when it comes to influencing the future of work and shaping the reality of work.
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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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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.
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The trade union negotiator’s checklist for dealing with inflation in wage increases.
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Trade unions can intervene and try to tackle problems in companies before a Section 189 notice is issued.
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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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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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A trade union checklist if retrenchments seem unavoidable.
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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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The process of negotiations forms the central part of collective bargaining. Here are the essential steps to follow.
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Diverse coalitions hold great potential to further collective bargaining in a changing workplace. Learn the strategies for building successful alliances.
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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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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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This wage bargaining guide is for negotiators in all kinds of bargaining environments.
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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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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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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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The LRS Negotiator’s Guide provides strategies to inspire, organise and represent workers.
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Seeking to connect and support women in precarious work to have their jobs made visible, recognised, valued and remunerated.
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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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Devalued, invisible, exploited and undermined, volunteer food handlers in the National School Nutrition Programme seek to be recognised and valued as workers.
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An effective shop steward can identify key labour laws to support the union’s bargaining and organising activities.
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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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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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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.
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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.
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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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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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A just transition involves climate action that provides decent jobs and less hardship for workers and their communities.
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Sexual harassment in the workplace is manifesting in more subtle forms. Know more and protect your rights as a worker.
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When stakeholders act collectively, it is possible to transform the norms, policies and practices that perpetuate gender-based violence in the workplace.
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%.
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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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Effective shop stewards use labour laws as a tool for organising.
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A guide for shop stewards on how to solve workers’ complaints and maintain strong workplace unions.
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The impact of the pandemic on employment is worse than expected, says the International Labour Organisation in a new report.
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Learn a step-by-step approach to successful bargaining at the company level. #goingbacktobasics
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Focus on changing male thought patterns that drive gender-based violence and femicide to change violent behaviour towards females.
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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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Our series of benchmarks will help trade union negotiators to enter into bargaining processes as informed role players.
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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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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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Unions can benefit from a more conscious approach to managing collective bargaining agreements information.
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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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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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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.
The headline inflation rate in May 2021 accelerated to 5.2 % year on year. The prices of food, transport, public transport and administered prices continue to drive inflation. Remember that inflation statistics refer to the past twelve months, while wage increases refer to the months to come.
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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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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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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.
The headline annual inflation rate increased to 4.4% in April 2021 from 3.2% in March 2021. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 0.7% month-on-month in April 2021.
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How are retail workers in South Africa affected by technological changes? Read our interview with Joyfull Mnguni of the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (SACCAWU), and know the possible trade union responses to these challenges.
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Identifying unfair labour practices – a quick recap of Section 185 of the Labour Relations Act.
The headline annual inflation rate increased to 3.2% in March 2021 from 2.9% in February 2021.
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It’s crunch time for trade unions as more workers face retrenchments by companies navigating the impact of the covid-19 pandemic. Here’s a recap of section 189 of the LRA to get you up to speed.
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Our latest Directors’ Fees Report delves into the remuneration of directors in 78 South African Multinational Corporations and confirms what we’ve always known: that there’s an astronomical gap between the pay of bosses and workers.
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Nina Benjamin, LRS Gender Equality Programme Leader, takes stock of her role supporting teacher trade unions in sub-Saharan Africa to create safe schools.
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The possible discriminatory consequences of a mandatory covid-19 vaccination policy at the workplace.
The headline inflation rate slowed to 2.9% in February 2021 from 3.2% in January 2021.
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What do we need to create safe and inclusive trade unions and workplaces free of homophobia? Trade union activists who have consciousness, passion, knowledge and skills to advocate for the rights of workers who are LGBT+.