How to develop relationships with shop stewards
The term ‘shop steward’ – who is an employee at a workplace who is elected by the trade union members to represent them in dealings with management - is not used in the Labour Relations Act (LRA) when dealing with the relationship between trade unions and employers. Instead, the act uses the term ‘trade union representative’ (TUR) to mean the same thing. Anyone elected as a TUR has substantial influence over workers.
For example:
- A shop steward may be mandated by the union members to negotiate annual wage increases with the employer.
- If the elected shop steward doesn’t understand the economics of business and has an aggressive attitude, he could spearhead work stoppages, go-slows, work-to-rule, protests, premises blockades, sit-ins or even industrial sabotage. This can be disastrous for the employer and employees.
You don’t have to recognise a shop steward!
Even when employees belong to trade unions, it isn’t always compulsory to recognise shop stewards, i.e. agree to accept the election of, and to interact with, shop stewards.
Before a trade union can legally force you to recognise shop stewards as worker representatives, it first has to:
1. Be recognised by your organisation,
2. Show that the majority of employees in your workplace are members of only that trade union, or the first union in conjunction with another union, and
3. Have, at the workplace, at least ten trade union members on its own or jointly with other unions.
Shop stewards aren’t trade union officials
- Union officials aren’t normally elected from the workers in a particular organisation.
- Shop stewards are elected by union members and aren’t paid by the union for acting as shop stewards.
This is important for you, the employer, because you’ll have to pay the shop steward because he’s your employee – no matter if he’s doing what you – or the trade union – wants!
Make everything between you and the trade union crystal clear
This why it’s vital for you to enter into an agreement with the union before you recognise it and the shop steward so you can keep tight control over the union and shop steward’s activities.
What do shop stewards’ duties include?
- Wage negotiations: This may involve the shop steward leading, or assisting with, the negotiations. He may also be involved in numerous preparatory and feedback meetings.Hearing employees’ grievances and negotiating with the employer.
- Representing employees at disciplinary hearings: This doesn’t only use up time at the hearing itself but can necessitate the shop steward spending long periods preparing for the hearing and dealing with appeals.
- Attending training courses and conferences arranged for him by the trade union.
- Holding meetings with members regarding union issues.
- Representing members at the CCMA or bargaining council.
Where the trade union has complied with the three requirements mentioned earlier, you can’t stop the shop steward from performing his duties. However, you can, and should:
- Refuse to recognise the shop steward until a properly drafted union recognition agreement has been signed,
- Impose, through the recognition agreement, strict controls on the shop steward’s activities,
- Make the shop steward fully aware of the consequences of breaching the terms of the recognition agreement and of the employer’s code of conduct,
- Take swift, yet legally correct action, where shop stewards disobey your rules, and
- Join a reputable employers’ organisation - such as the General, Domestic and Professional Employers' Organisation (GDPEO) - to gain access to expert legal advice and representation.
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Ivan Israelstam is the Chief Executive Officer of Labour Law Management Consulting. He is known as a leading practitioner in labour law and pragmatic labour relations management with many years experience in corporate human resources management. He has an honours degree from The University of the Witwatersrand and an IPM diploma in Personnel Management and in Training. Contact Ivan: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . |
