South Africa

Organization responsible for the statistics

The statistics are collected, compiled and published by the Department of Manpower. They are also published by the Central Statistical Office.

Objectives and users

Not available.

Coverage

Strikes and lockouts

The statistics cover all discontinuances of work which comply with the definitions given in the Labour Relations Act, and include: The last seven types of action are only included if there is a cessation of work or an obstruction of work is involved.

Data are not compiled separately for strikes and lockouts; the data for lockouts are published together with those for strikes, although the information that the action relates to a lockout is recorded on the computer data base. Incidents where employers lock out their employees before a strike are rare; more often, a strike precedes a lockout.

Rotating or revolving strikes are unknown; discontinuances of work of this nature could be included if they complied with the definition in the Labour Relations Act.

Minimum threshold At least two workers involved.

Economic activities

For all reported action, the employer's business activities must fall under the jurisdiction of the Labour Relations Act, 1956. Therefore, the statistics do not cover public administration and defence; central authorities; provincial authorities and administration; farming operations; private household employees; unpaid workers in charitable institutions; or teachers, trainers and educators in educational institutions partly or wholly financed by public funds.

Workers

Workers directly involved only. The statistics cover regular paid employees (see definition). The data collected from employers does not differentiate between categories of workers (seasonal, part-time, etc.). The data concern strikers (see definition); workers laid off or absent on sick leave or annual leave are not included.

Economically inactive persons, unemployed persons and own account workers without employees or other assistance are not included because they are not covered under the Labour Relations Act, 1956.

Geographic areas

Whole country.

Other

The location of the reported action must fall under the Labour Relations Act, 1956, i.e. it must be in the Republic of South Africa. Therefore, the self-governing territories and employees of extraterritorial employers are not included.

Data collected

Although the name of the reporting employer is known to the Department of Manpower, it is kept confidential, and is only used to ensure that the information of the relevant incident has in fact been supplied. After the information has been assembled, the name is used along with other data to prevent duplication of reports. The aggregated data from all employers' reports is exported by the computer as a mass observation of work stoppages.

Concepts and definitions

Strike

Any one or more of the following acts or omissions by any body or number of persons who are or have been employed whether by the same employer or by different employers: (a) the refusal or failure by them to continue to work (whether the discontinuance is complete or partial) or to resume their work or to accept re-employment or to comply with the terms of employment applicable to them, or the retardation by them of the progress of work, or the obstruction by them of work; or (b) the breach or termination by them of their contracts of employment, if (i) that refusal, failure, retardation, obstruction, breach or termination is in pursuance of any combination, agreement or understanding between them, whether expressed or not; and (ii) the purpose of that refusal, failure, retardation, obstruction, breach or termination is to induce or compel any person by whom they or any other persons are or have been employed (aa) to agree to or to comply with any demands or proposals concerning terms and conditions of employment or other matters made by or on behalf of them or any of them or any other persons who are or have been employed, or (bb) to refrain from giving effect to any intention to change terms or conditions of employment, or, if such a change has been made, to restore the terms or conditions to those which existed before the change was made, or (cc) to employ or to suspend or terminate the employment of any person.

Workstoppage

A temporary, collective withholding of labour without any reason given or demands made.

Lockout

Any one or more of the following acts or omissions by a person who is or has been an employer: (a) the exclusion by him of any body or number of persons who are or have been in his employ from any premises on or in which work provided by him is or has been performed; or (b) the total or partial discontinuance by him of his business or of the provision of work; or (c) the breach or termination by him of the contracts of employment of any body or number of persons in his employ; or (d) the refusal or failure by him to re-employ any body or number of persons who have been in his employ, if the purpose of that exclusion, discontinuance, breach, termination, refusal or failure is to induce or compel an persons, who are or have been in his employ or in the employ of other persons (i) to agree to or comply with any demands or proposals concerning terms or conditions of employment or other matters made by him or on his behalf or by or on behalf of any other person who is or has been an employer, or (ii) to accept any change in the terms or conditions of employment, or (iii) to agree to the employment or the suspension or termination of the employment of any person.

Employee

Any person who is employed by or working for any employer and receiving or entitled to receive any remuneration, and, subject to ss.(3), any other person whomsoever who in any manner assists in the carrying on or conducting of the business of an employer.

Employer

Any person whomsoever who employs or provides work for any person and remunerates or expressly or tacitly undertakes to remunerate him or who, subject to ss.(3), permits any person whomsoever in any manner to assist him in the carrying on or conducting of his business.

These definitions come from the Labour Relations Act, 1956 (Act 28 of 1956).

Strikers

Workers who are included in a discontinuance of work, as opposed to those workers forming part of the work force but who are for various reasons not involved in the strike incident (sick leave, vacation, etc.).

This term is used and defined for statistical purposes.

Methods of measurement

Strikes and lockouts

The basic unit of measurement used to record a strike or lockout is the case of dispute and the employer. The most important aspect is that, as a result of some sort of dissatisfaction, employees withhold their labour or employers effect a lockout. A work stoppage can occur without any reasons given and without any obvious causes, i.e. without an existing dispute.

There is no general method for counting the number of strikes or lockouts if work stoppages resulting from the same case of dispute occur simultaneously or at different times in different establishments of the same enterprise. Attempts are made to handle the different incidents in a consistent manner, but each incident has to be considered independently, taking into account all the circumstances. Therefore, the stoppages may be counted as one strike or lockout, or several. The latter may be the case if the action is spread over different geographical areas.

When employees of one employer in different establishments participate in a strike, concurrently, or one employer effects or participates in a lockout in different establishments, concurrently, and this occurs in the same branch of economic activity, due to the same case of dispute, and the same trade union (if any) is involved, the employer completes a separate form for each establishment. After the consistency between the reports for each establishment is ascertained, the data may be combined, as far as possible, to provide data for one strike or one lockout.

If a strike or lockout is interrupted but later resumes, still due to the same case of dispute, i.e. the strike or lockout is interrupted by the resumption of work by the strikers, the employer's report gives new commencement and termination dates and it is treated as a new strike or lockout.

When a strike or lockout involves more than one region or outlet, or this is suspected, the employer involved is requested to furnish a list of the various outlets, branches or establishments that were involved, the date the action started and the location. If a list is supplied, the data are reported and compiled separately for each of the outlets, branches, establishments, etc. listed. When all the report forms are received, each one is checked for correctness and consistency, then they are added up for each region, unless there are radical differences between the totals for the branches of economic activity. This procedure is used whenever possible if one employer is involved and willing and able to supply a list.

Workers involved

The number of workers involved may be counted in several ways: as the maximum number of workers that took part during the course of the stoppage, even if some of the workers participated for only part of the stoppage; as the actual number of workers that took part for the whole duration, as reported by the employer; or as the total workforce of the employer, i.e. total employment.

Duration

The duration of a strike or lockout is measured in workdays or shifts or normal hours of work, from the date it began to the date it ended, according to the employer's report.

Time not worked

Time not worked is measured in workhours (normal hours of work) either as the product of the duration measured in workdays or shifts or the number of normal hours of work each day and the number of workers involved; or as the product of the duration, measured in normal hours of work, and the number of workers involved. The method used depends largely on the information furnished by employers.

Wages lost

If wages are not paid because work is not performed, the amount of wages lost is estimated as the product of the average hourly wage and the total number of hours not worked.

Classifications

Cause of dispute

Branch of economic activity

The data are classified as far as possible according to the Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (SIC), based on the United Nations International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities, Rev. 2, 1968.

Number of workers involved

Duration

(in workdays)

Size of economic units involved

(number of employees)

Other

Reference period and periodicity

When the completed reports are received from employers, preliminary data are assembled for various reference periods (a month, quarter, six months and a year). The published statistics refer to a year. Until December 1988, the reference period was a calendar year (January to December). Because of the difficulties involved in collecting data during December and January, when most businesses, factories, industrial councils and other institutions are closed for several weeks, the reference period was realigned to the 12 months from 1 November to 31 October, beginning with 1 November 1988.

The information about strikes and lockouts is collected over a period of 12 months. However, the employers concerned are unable to submit their completed reports until the strikes or lockouts have terminated. The information compiled therefore relates only to those strikes and lockouts that terminated during the reference period, i.e. if a strike began during one 12-month period and ended during the next 12-month period, the information about it would only be recorded for the period during which it terminated.

Analytical measures

None.

Historical background of the series

Not available.

Documentation

Series available

Not available.

Bibliographic references

Department of Manpower: Report of the Director-General - Manpower (annual).

National Manpower Commission: Annual Report.

Central Statistical Service: South African Labour Statistics (annual).

Data published by the ILO

The number of strikes and lockouts, the number of workers involved and the number of days not worked, by economic activity.

Confidentiality

Not available.

International standards

Not available.

Methods of data collection

There is a legal obligation, on the part of the employer concerned, to report the occurrence of a strike or lockout. Section 65A of the Labour Relations Act, 1956, states the following:

Notice of discontinuance of work: (1) Whenever as the result of a dispute concerning the terms or conditions of employment of an employee or employees there is a discontinuance of work, the employer concerned shall forthwith notify the inspector defined by regulation thereof in the prescribed manner. (2) Any employer who fails to comply with any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of an offence. The report is made, using a standard form, to the Department of Manpower, and includes information about the employer (name, location, type of activity) and the strike or lockout. The data are collected by departmental inspectors, Manpower Centre personnel, staff in the offices of Regional Directors of Manpower and the head office of the Department of Manpower.

The Labour Relations Act places the onus on the employer to notify the Department of Manpower, but it is sometimes necessary to contact employers several times in order to collect the required information. In most cases, initial indications that action has occurred are determined from reports in the media, and the Department of Manpower follows this up by contacting the employer directly, first to verify that a strike or lockout actually occurred, then to collect the necessary information. Different enterprises, employers or businesses administer their own affairs in their own ways; some prefer that information about strikes be released by one person authorized by them, while others have spokespersons at regional offices or branches; some are even further decentralized and have local administrations; in most small enterprises, there is one person who is empowered to supply the information. If a strike or lockout occurs without being reported by the employer or in the media, it is quite possible that the Department of Manpower would not detect it.