Younger shop stewards learn their militant behaviour from some MPs
The basis for normalising labour relations lies largely at a political level and government level
In its recent Global Competitiveness Report, the World Economic Forum (WEF) sketched a bleak picture of labour relations in the country, ranking SA in 137th position out of 137 countries. The report states that SA has the worst labour relations in the world. In looking for a solution, one must look beyond employer-trade union relations, though. The total labour relations system must be analysed, and this includes political, economic, social, technological and international developments, which together with government policies, determine the state of labour relations. For a start, politically linked corruption comes in the form of corporate corruption arising from state capture, such as the Bosasa and VBS matters, and various other examples of poor corporate governance such as what has been seen at the Gupta mines. This corruption has already destroyed thousands of jobs and it has created an unhealthy climate for labour relations. What is even more extreme is the way in which violent...
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