This paper reflects on wage determination in South Africa in the post-Apartheid era and on
collective bargaining in particular as the most socially inclusive form of contesting the distribution
of incomes in our society.
This paper is concerned with the character and dynamics of the collective bargaining process
as trade unions and employers set about determining wage levels in different parts of
the economy. The analysis must touch on areas such as the institutional setting for collective
bargaining and the labour regulatory environment, but it is not our intention to map out that
terrain in any particular detail for the purposes of this paper.
The paper begins by asking, “Where have we arrived?” in relation to wage determination.
The first section outlines the dominant principles and practices of collective bargaining as it
stands in 2014 and reflects on the major conflicts of the last few years.
Section Two, Wage Determination, considers the development of wage levels in South Africa.
The focus is on low wage work. This section examines overall wage outcomes and developments
at three major levels of wage determination, namely bargaining councils, sectoral
determinations and bilateral collective bargaining outside of statutory structures.
Section Three asks, “What direction will collective bargaining take?” and attempts to identify
bargaining trends in the near future.
The final section poses the question, “What is our destination?”. This section revisits the question
of where the vehicles of collective bargaining and wage determination are intended to
transport us to. We argue that the goal is poorly developed and that this in itself is a blockage
in the system.