EDITORIAL: Bus groups put collective bargaining system to the test
Scrapping collective bargaining is unlikely to be the solution for unemployment
Free-marketeers and small business proponents are likely to laud the news that five bus groups, including major players Golden Arrow and Putco, have applied to be exempted from recently negotiated collective bargaining agreements.What makes the bus case interesting is that it is typically small employers and nonmembers of a bargaining council that apply for exemptions, with large employers usually blamed for using the bargaining process to reach agreements that are "unaffordable" for smaller players, thereby keeping competitors at bay.That the large bus companies also want out on specific aspects of the agreement sends worrying signals about the likelihood of another bus strike and raises a red flag about the extent of the pressure the multi-employer collective bargaining system in SA is under — something likely to be praised by the free-marketeers.The collective bargaining system allows for multi-employer bargaining with unions in a specific sector, with agreements on wages and wor...
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