In 2011 South Africa lost approximately 2.8 million working days due to strike action1. This has a significant economic impact causing lost productivity, reduced growth expectations, and diverted foreign investment. To put this into context, in the first 10 months of 2012, South Africa lost an estimated R10.1 billion to strikes and stoppages in the platinum and gold mining industries alone. This, in turn, had the knock-on effect of lowering South Africa’s GDP growth expectations for 2012/2013 to 2.5%2.
One undeniable lesson from the strikes of 2012 is that they are not always just about the money – at least not completely. The rock drillers at Marikana, who went on an unprotected strike that resulted in so many deaths, were in the top-earning 25% of formal sector employees3.
The causes of this and other strikes are complex and can include clashes between various organised labour groups, xenophobia, politics, and lack of service delivery. However, some elements of the total rewards system have been noted as contributing factors to the strikes of 2012, such as housing at Marikana and unwanted funeral policies at KDC East. Underpinning the strikes is the omnipresent issue of financial distress among the workers. So, if not managed properly, the total rewards system can contribute to strike action – but what about the converse: how do strikes impact on the total rewards system?
Industrial Action 101
The South African constitution4 enshrines workers’ rights to peaceful strike action. Subject to the requirements of Section 64 of the Labour Relations Act5, workers may embark on a protected strike, which means that they are treated as if on unpaid leave for as long as the strike remains protected. On the other hand, if these conditions are not met, the strike is unprotected and workers are treated as if absent without leave.
Some of the conditions for a protected strike are:
- Giving seven days notice to the employer of the intention to strike
- Ongoing negotiations to end the strike
- The strike remaining peaceful.
Research by COSATU suggests that at least half of their union’s members believe that violent, and therefore unprotected, strikes have been more effective than peaceful strikes at achieving their objectives6. We may, therefore, be seeing more unprotected strikes in the future.