Teachers and public transport could soon become ‘essential services’
The Department of Labour has called for public comment after announcing that it plans to revise the list of essential services under the Labour Relations Act.
Essential services are those that, if interrupted, would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or any part of the population. Effectively this limits the worker’s right to strike and means that any dispute must be referred to interest arbitration.
In a notice published on Friday (15 June), the department announced that it would be investigating whether or not public transport services, and services rendered by educators and support staff in basic education (including early childhood development) should be considered ‘essential services’ under the Act.
The announcement is especially timely after bus drivers engaged in a weeks long strike earlier this year, which stranded thousands of commuters across the country.
Recent protest action by Eskom workers has also shed light on exactly how much damage those working in the public sector can inflict, with Eskom confirming on Monday (18 June) that it could take more than a week for its grid to recover from the illegal strike action.
The Essential Services Committee (ESC) will now host a number of hearings at various CCMA offices across the country, where individuals and groups representing these two services are expected to make oral representations.
You can find a full list of details about the hearings here.
Read: Why it will take Eskom’s grid up to 10 days to recover from strike action
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