'Who ate the cheese?' Betrayal of South African workers

WHEN Thandi, a domestic worker in Johannesburg, was unfairly dismissed without severance pay, she turned to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA), a body designed to protect workers like her.

- TAHIR MAEPA

Today, Thandi waits endlessly for justice. The CCMA, once a beacon of post-apartheid labour reform, is collapsing under maladministration, corruption, and the deafening silence of those meant to safeguard it.

A legislative promise betrayed

Established under Section 112 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) and enshrined in Section 23 of the Constitution, the CCMA was created to “advance economic development, social justice, labour peace, and the democratisation of the workplace”.

As a Schedule 3a entity under the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), it is mandated to operate independently, free from political, union, or corporate influence. Its functions, from conciliating disputes to training on labour law, were designed to empower workers. Yet today, the CCMA's doors are closing. Service centres in Black communities critical for workers without digital access - have shuttered. Walk-in advice desks, once lifelines for the vulnerable, are gone.

The nightmare began in late 2020, when budget cuts axed part-time commissioners, stranding thousands of cases. What was framed as a “temporary measure” has become a permanent injustice.

Shackled by neglect