The Department of Labour is causing confusion over its statement that employers should not force employees to take their annual leave during the Covid-19 lockdown period.

Labour brokers have been dealt a major blow after the Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday that they were not dual employers when their clients absorb contract workers as permanent staff.

South Africa’s parliament is currently debating amendments to the Labour Relations Act that will change how workers can go on strike. For example, the amendments would require trade unions to hold secret ballots to decide on strike action and introduce a mechanism where strikes could be resolved through an advisory arbitration panel.

Employment laws are among the most comprehensive and complex laws in the country. These laws not only enumerate the rights and obligations of both employers and employees, but they also provide means to protect these rights and the steps by which the aggrieved may air his concerns. 

We've heard of plenty cases of people lying about their qualifications in order to secure employment. It's not always that straightforward when it comes to firing somone. What about a security guard who hides the fact that he has an oustanding criminal charge against him? Can he be fired? Again, the law is not that clear-cut and the security officer may have solid grounds for challenging any attempt to dismiss him.

The Free Market Foundation's challenge to labour unions was heard recently in the High Court, with both sides hailing it as a victory. It's clear the Foundation has grounds to celebrate as the judge's findings will make it more difficult for the minister of labour to extend so-called Bargaining Council Agreements (BCA) to employers who fall outside the BCA system. The Foundation says this is a victory for the millions of South Africans unemployed, and for marginalised workers.

The Free Market Foundation won a major victory in the Pretoria High Court this week when Judge John Murphy intervened, effectively declaring that bargaining council agreements must be subject to judicial review. This, says, the FMF, is a major victory for labour freedom and the unemployed. 

SA's unemployment rate at 26% puts us behind Greece. That takes some doing, but we managed it. But this has not stopped the ruling party throwing its weight behind calls for a national minimum wage, which places us squarely in cloud cuckoo land, writes John Kane-Berman of the SA Institute of Race Relations in Business Day.

The government is contemplating new laws to curb lengthy and violent strikes that are blamed for lowering SA's investment status and pushing the country into recession. 

New amendments to the Labour Relations and Employment Equity Acts could have far-reaching and unintended consequences. Though intended to promote pay parity between temporary and permanent workers, they may end up achieving the exact opposite.

South Africa's unemployment rate is either 25% or 40% depending on your definition. The problem is, the number crunchers do not count those who are too apathetic to look for work, so the figure could be much higher, or the informal sector is much bigger than anyone would have us believe. 

The Democratic Alliance says the Employment Tax Incentive Bill, which introduces a youth wage subsidy, misses the mark by watering down the benefits originally suggested three years ago.

The business sector is up in arms over the almost complete disregard for its objections to the Employment Equity Amendment Bill, paving the way for a possible challenge in the Constitutional Court.

There were not enough MPs in Parliament to vote through the Labour Relations Amendment Act, which the Democratic Alliance says will kill jobs.

The Employment Services Bill aims an arrow at the heart of the labour broking sector. For all its humanistic pretensions, this bill will further harm SA's precarious job market, writes Ciaran Ryan.

The ANC government will have to chisel away at Cosatu's powers, in much the same way as Margaret Thatcher did to trade unions in the UK, if it is to achieve the growth targets of the National Deevelopment Plan, writes John Kane-Berman in Business Day.

Trade union Solidarity says it is time the country started to come up with fresh ideas to address the racial imbalances bequeathed by apartheid. As part of its campaign, it is bringing several affirmative action cases before the Labour Court in an effort to challenge what it believes is a flawed government race policy, more concerned with quotas than actual outcomes.