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It explains the statutory meaning of “strike” and how a refusal to work must aim to remedy a grievance or resolve a dispute concerning matters of mutual interest. The note reviews the Vanachem Vanadium Products v NUMSA case, focusing on whether specific NUMSA demands were sufficiently linked to covered issues under the main agreement and strike-settlement arrangements.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":20,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/matters-of-mutual-interest-for-purposes-of-a-strike/502338/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/matters-of-mutual-interest-for-purposes-of-a-strike/502338.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Maya Linwood","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-17","2026-10-03",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":34},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What does “strike” require under the Labour Relations Act definition?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"A strike involves a partial or complete concerted refusal to work (or obstruction/retardation) for the purpose of remedying a grievance or resolving a dispute regarding a matter of mutual interest between employer and employees.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Which demands did NUMSA raise against Vanachem in May 2013?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"NUMSA demanded an end to outsourcing (including HRM and housekeeping), payment for transport to and from work, appointment of full-time shop stewards, payment of risk allowances (heat, chemical, dust), and training of artisans.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How did the court assess whether demands were “matters of mutual interest”?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The court considered the role of the bargaining council as the sole forum for negotiating matters contained in the main agreement and examined whether each demand was sufficiently closely related to issues regulated by that main agreement to preclude plant-level bargaining.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},502338,1791173068,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":19,"category_name":20,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":34,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":52,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144},962084928432,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","“MATTERS OF MUTUAL INTEREST”  \nFOR PURPOSES OF A STRIKE  \nVanachem Vanadium Products (Pty) Ltd v National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa  \n[2014] 9 BLLR 923 (LC)  \n1 Introduction  \nThe concept of “matters of mutual interest” is used in a number of sections and definitions in the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (LRA) . This is an indication that this is an important concept in labour law, and it is therefore imperative that it be properly understood. At times this concept is misunderstood to be synonymous with disputes of interest, however, that isnot necessarily the case (Grogan Collective Labour Law (2010) 103) . This concept is used , for example , in the definitions of both collective agreement and strike contained in section 213 of the LRA. It is also used in section 134 of the LRA which deals with dispute resolution. In spite of its importance, the LRA does not provide a definition for the concept. As a result the interpretation of this concept has raised some challenges as it will be seen from Vanachem Vanadium Products (Pty) Ltd v National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa ([2014] 9 BLLR 923 (LC)) . In this matter , the court was required to determine whether certain matters were matters of mutual interest for purposes of strike action. Section 213 of the LRA defines“strike” as:  \n“the partial or complete concerted refusal to work, or the retardation or obstruction of work, by persons who are or have been employed by the same employer or by different employers, for the purpose of remedying a grievance or resolving a dispute in respect of any matter of mutual interest (author’s own emphasis) between employer and employee  ”  \nBased on the above definition , the purpose of the refusal to work by employees must be to “remedy a grievance” or “resolve a dispute in respect of matters of mutual interest between the employer and employees”. A dispute which does not fall under matters of mutual interest is therefore not covered for purposes of a strike. The correct interpretation of this concept in this context is important as it ultimately determines whether or not a trade union and its members may strike in support of a particular demand. This note will consider the concept of “matters of mutual interest” and the way it has been interpreted and then evaluate the finding in Vanachem Vanadium Products v NUMSA in order to determine whether the court was correct in its determination of whether disputes or demands raised by NUMSA for purposes of a strike were matters of mutual interest or not.  \n2 Facts  \nThe respondent (“NUMSA”), a majority union , concluded a strike-settlement agreement with the applicant (“Vanachem”) on 5 December 2012. Clause 1 of the agreement stated that the parties agreed that conditions of employment contained in annexure “A” to the agreement would be determined and based on the terms and conditions of the Metal and Engineering Industry Bargaining Council (“MEIBC”) main agreement. In terms of clause 37(1) of the main agreement , MEIBC is the sole forum for negotiating matters contained in the main agreement. The strike agreement stated amongst others the following (926H–I):  \n“1.1 Linkage with the Main Agreement  \nThe parties agree that variation of all conditions of employment contained in Annexure A shall be determined and be based on the terms and conditions of the signed MEIBC Main Agreement Settlement Agreement.  \nThe above linkages shall be binding on the parties and remain in force until such time that the parties to the MEIBC have concluded the process of establishing the House Agreement Chamber which shall facilitate the incorporation of the House Agreements into the Main Agreement.”  \nIt must be noted that the House Agreement Chamber as referred to above has not yet been established by the council. NUMSA submitted a number of demands to Vanachem in May 2013, however, Vanachem refused to accede to those demands and a dispute was referred to MEIBC in that regard. The demands by NUMSA incl","cbCaigheJUnwyDJM","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaigheJUnwyDJM","pdf",185704,"English","# Introduction\n# Facts\n# The finding by the court","[{\"question\":\"What does “strike” require under the Labour Relations Act definition?\",\"answer\":\"A strike involves a partial or complete concerted refusal to work (or obstruction/retardation) for the purpose of remedying a grievance or resolving a dispute regarding a matter of mutual interest between employer and employees.\"},{\"question\":\"Which demands did NUMSA raise against Vanachem in May 2013?\",\"answer\":\"NUMSA demanded an end to outsourcing (including HRM and housekeeping), payment for transport to and from work, appointment of full-time shop stewards, payment of risk allowances (heat, chemical, dust), and training of artisans.\"},{\"question\":\"How did the court assess whether demands were “matters of mutual interest”?\",\"answer\":\"The court considered the role of the bargaining council as the sole forum for negotiating matters contained in the main agreement and examined whether each demand was sufficiently closely related to issues regulated by that main agreement to preclude plant-level bargaining.\"}]","Matters of Mutual Interest - For Purposes of a Strike | PDF",1791031654,25]