The Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration is a vital cog in labour relations in SA, but it has been struggling under the heavy burden of thousands of disputes referred to it during the lockdown.
Prior to the lockdown, the CCMA had called for an increased budget allocation so it can manage its vital role in industrial relations in SA. Without the CCMA and its ability to enforce labour legal rights our labour laws are meaningless. As it is, the need to keep funding state-owned enterprises and, in particular, Eskom and SAA, has meant the government spending less and less money on enforcing workers’ rights in recent years.Michael Bagraim, MPJOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an e-mail with your comments. Letters of more than 300 words may be edited for length. Send your letter by e-mail to letters@businesslive.co.za. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime phone number.