Assessing the Effectiveness and efficiencies of the Public Bargaining Council: A South African Perspective

A bargaining council is a body created by the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 to form part of the dispute resolution system. Failure by par-ties to resolve grievances through the procedure impacts the employ-ment relationship since parties are assumed to have shared goals and a collective responsibility to safeguard the success of the workplace. Qualitative research approach was employed as the study intended to explore the effectiveness and efficiencies of bargaining councils in the public sector. An exploratory research design was adopted in the study as this study was exploratory in nature. Three themes emerged from this study to assess the effectiveness and efficiencies of the Pub-lic Bargaining Council. These are improper dispute referral, capacity challenges and Inadequate work experience. Thus, the study recom-mends that the bargaining council should develop training programs for public service employees and union officials to educate them about the council’s processes, jurisdiction, and proper dispute referral procedures. Unions should conduct workshops to ensure their members un-derstand the bargaining council’s processes, especially regarding the jurisdictional scope of disputes. The study further recommends that all parties involved in dispute resolution must comply with the bargaining council’s rules.