Back to: Introduction to the Labour Relations Act (LRA)
4.1 Right to Strike and Recourse to Lockout
Welcome to Module 4 of our course on the Labour Relations Act, 1995. In this module, we will focus on the provisions related to strikes and lockouts, beginning with the right to strike and the recourse to lockout.
The Labour Relations Act recognizes the right to strike as a fundamental right of employees. A strike is defined as 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 different employers for the purpose of remedying a grievance or resolving a dispute in respect of any matter of mutual interest between employer and employee.
The right to strike is enshrined in Section 23 of the Constitution and is regulated by the Labour Relations Act to ensure that strikes are conducted in an orderly and lawful manner. Employees may strike if the issue in dispute has been referred to a council or the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) and a certificate stating that the dispute remains unresolved has been issued, or a period of 30 days has elapsed since the referral, whichever occurs first.
Additionally, employees must give the employer at least 48 hours’ notice in writing of the commencement of the strike. In the case of a proposed strike in an essential service, at least seven days’ notice must be given. These requirements are designed to ensure that strikes are not undertaken lightly and that there is an opportunity for dispute resolution before industrial action occurs.
Employers have the right to a lockout, which is the exclusion by an employer of employees from the employer’s workplace for the purpose of compelling the employees to accept a demand in respect of any matter of mutual interest between employer and employee. The recourse to lockout is similarly regulated to ensure that it is conducted in a lawful and orderly manner.
A lockout is permissible if the issue in dispute has been referred to a council or the CCMA and a certificate stating that the dispute remains unresolved has been issued, or a period of 30 days has elapsed since the referral. Employers must also give the employees or their trade union at least 48 hours’ notice of the commencement of the lockout.