Working Paper No. 47 - Assessing South Africa’s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) - Professional insights

Oct 3, 2026

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Working Paper No. 47 examines how South Africa’s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) has evolved in response to changing workplace conflict dynamics. It sets out the historical, regulatory, and socio-economic context and then analyzes challenges since CCMA’s 1995 establishment, including rising individual disputes, increasing adversarial practices and violence in collective bargaining, and major job losses. The paper critiques CCMA’s responses and highlights initiatives in individual dispute conciliation and arbitration, collective dispute resolution approaches, telecommunications and information technology adoption, and job-retention strategies.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages60

Reading Time2 h 31 min

AccessFree to download

Foreword

CCMA evolution and workplace conflict context

Key challenges faced since 1995

Critique of CCMA responses

Priority initiatives highlighted

Working Paper No. 47 Paul Benjamin April 2013 Governance and Tripartism Department Assessing South Africa’s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) DIALOGUE Working Paper No. 47 Assessing South Africa’s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) Paul Benjamin Governance and Tripartism Department International Labour Office • Geneva April 2013 | Copyright © International Labour Organization 2013 First published 2013
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Assessing South Africa's commission for conciliation, mediation and arbitration (CCMA) / Paul Benjamin; International Labour Office, Industrial and Employment Relations Department. -Geneva: ILO, 2013 DIALOGUE working paper ; ISSN 2226-7433; 2226-7840 (web pdf); No.47
International Labour Office; Industrial and Employment Relations Department
labour dispute settlement / conciliation / mediation / arbitration / labour legislation / comment / South Africa R
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[Visit our web site: www.ilo.org/publns](Visit our web site: www.ilo.org/publns) | Printed in Switzerland Foreword Conflict is inevitable in workplace relations. Establishing institutions and practices that are able to manage workplace conflict effectively is therefore an integral dimension of any workplace relations system. However, the nature of workplace relations and workplace conflict is changing. For example, as trade union density has declined, work-related disputes have become increasingly individualised, rendering institutions built on the expectation of collective disputes struggling under the resulting workload. Broader legislative and economic developments have also affected the nature of disputes, with many countries reporting a sharp increase in the number of rights disputes (and termination-related rights disputes in particular) proportionate to the number of i

FAQs

What workplace conflict changes motivate the CCMA assessment in this paper?

The foreword highlights shifting workplace relations and conflict patterns, including increased individualised disputes as union density declines and growth in rights disputes alongside broader legislative and economic developments.

When was the CCMA established, and what challenges does the paper focus on?

The paper states that the CCMA was established in 1995 and focuses on challenges such as unanticipated levels of individual cases, increasing adversarialism and violence in collective bargaining, extreme social inequality, and job losses after the financial crisis.

What initiatives does the paper identify as critical to CCMA success?

It highlights expeditious conciliation and arbitration procedures for individual disputes, innovative and proactive approaches to collective dispute resolution, adoption of modern telecommunications and information technology, and a holistic strategy concerning job retention.

Oct 3, 2026

Upload by hdkawk