Gideon du Plessis, general secretary of trade union Solidarity, writes that, as is the case with #FeesMustFall, labour relations are complicated and are characterised by hidden agendas.  

So, if employers want to restore the balance of power and labour peace at shop floor level, they will have to negotiate smarter, but will also have to understand the deep-seated dynamics behind labour relations.  He says that with the general trade union environment, Cosatu, and the ruling party all being in disarray, employers should seize the opportunity to stabilise labour relations at workplace level without fear of high level interference.  Also worth noting is that when it comes to labour disputes the local structures of certain populist trade unions nowadays want to act more independently and without interference from their headquarters.  Du Plessis goes on to make practical observations relating to wage negotiation processes.

• Read Du Plessis’ article in full at BizNews
• Read this article in Afrikaans at Netwerk24  (limited access)

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