Volume: Volume 2(1) - 1998

Article type: Refereed article

Author/s: Satgar, Vishwas

Vish Satgar challenges the 'neo-pluralist" power-sharing paradigm embodied in Chapter 5 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) which, he argues, does not confront hierarchy in a transformative way. In contrast, he redefines co-determination as part of a struggle to expand worker control with a view to achieving collective worker responsibility for managing the workplace.

In practice, he suggests, this could be promoted by means of workplace forums based on collective agreements allowing workers to run public-sector units, such as schools, in the context of policy agreed at the Public Sector Bargaining Council. In private-sector enterprises, areas of "autonomous self-management" could be defined for workplace forums, and expanded, alongside of co-determined areas.

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