Gideon du Plessis, general secretary of trade union Solidarity, writes that the outcome of the current public sector negotiations, where public service unions and the government are heading for confrontation, may determine the labour relations climate for 2018.  

A negotiated settlement would be a victory for collective bargaining, but a strike by 300,000 public servants would be catastrophic.  At beleaguered Telkom and ArcelorMittal, negotiations will kick off in February.  Telkom has already indicated that it may not be able to grant an increase and a strike is therefore a real possibility.  Salary negotiations at ArcelorMittal will follow on the heels of a retrenchment process.  Eskom’s salary negotiations will start in April.  Negotiations in the gold mining sector are set to commence in June, providing once again a platform where the NUM and Amcu can continue their rivalry.  Negotiations in the petroleum sector of the National Bargaining Council for the Chemical Industry will start in the second week of May and are expected to be tough.  The fight by the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) to get a seat at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) will also come to a head in 2018.  Du Plessis concludes by noting that, while 2018 could be a tough one for labour relations, credit ratings agencies could bring ideologically driven players in the labour relations environment back to reality with a further downgrade.

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