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Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act No. 66 of 1995)

Codes of Good Practice

Collective Bargaining, Industrial Action and Picketing

Part D :  Industrial Action : Strikes and Lockouts

20. Notice of the commencement of the strike or lockout

 

(1) The notice of the commencement of a strike or lockout must be in writing and given at least 48 hours after the issue of a certificate of outcome or the expiry of thirty days in the case of private employers and seven days in case of the state as employer.

 

(2) Since the object of notice is to allow the other party to put its house in order and limit the negative consequences of Industrial action to loss of production on the part of employers and the loss of income on the part of employees, the parties should agree to a notice period, notwithstanding the minimum periods set out in the Act, that is of sufficient duration to allow the employer to shut down its plant or services without damage to property and to allow the employees to make the necessary arrangements to face a period of no income.

 

(3) The notice must include—
(a) the date and lime when the strike or lockout is to commence;
(b) the demands which the other party is being required to meet, which demands may not be different to those on which the parties deadlocked.

 

(4) The notice does not have to include the following information:
(a) Which employees are to go on strike;
(b) In which division of the employer's workplace the strike is going to be called.

 

(5) If a strike or lockout does not commence on the date stated in the notice, the trade union or employers' organisation should issue a further notice stating the date and time of commencement if it intends to strike or lockout unless there is an agreement, that should not be unreasonably withheld,to extend or shorten the notice to allow for further negotiations.

 

(6) The failure to issue a further notice, or strike or lockout after a notice is issued in terms of 19(5) herein,may lead to an inference that the trade union or employers' organisation has waived or abandoned its right to strike or lockout.