The Constitutional Court on the rights of minority trade unions in a majoritarian collective bargaining system

Abstract

The collective bargaining framework in South Africa as set out in the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 is based on the principle of ‘majoritarianism’. Notwithstanding the premise of our legal system, minority trade unions have an important role to play in advancing workers’ rights and have turned to the courts for an endorsement of these rights. In this respect, there are three significant Constitutional Court decisions that form the foundation of this article. The key focus is on exploring the extent to which these judgments advance such rights and, particularly, whether and to what extent the Constitutional Court has developed coherent and consistent principles relative to the rights of minority trade unions.