CCMA settles 76% of labour disputes as job-saving efforts continue

NewsSportLifestyleEntertainmentOpinionNewsCCMA settles 76% of labour disputes as job-saving efforts continueLondiwe Xulu|Published 15 minutes agoCopy to ClipboardAsk AI Employment and Labour Deputy Minister Jomo Sibiya.

The CCMA recorded a 76% dispute-settlement rate in the 2025/26 financial year and helped save nearly half of jobs threatened by retrenchment, Employment and Labour Deputy Minister Jomo Sibiya said.

Speaking at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration’s 30th anniversary conference in Tshwane on Wednesday, Sibiya said the institution had maintained a settlement rate above 70% throughout its three decades of operation.

Approximately three in four disputes were resolved through agreements reached by the parties, rather than through imposed outcomes.

“Parties are more likely to honour agreements that they have helped to shape,” Sibiya said.

He said CCMA, established in November 1996, has received more than four million referrals over 30 years.

Sibiya said the commission’s interventions had also helped protect jobs during periods of economic hardship. During the 2025/26 financial year, nearly half of the jobs at risk in CCMA-facilitated retrenchment processes were saved.

He said CCMA’s 2024/25 annual report recorded 47% of jobs saved in section 189A retrenchment processes.

Sibiya said delays in resolving disputes remained a concern, particularly for dismissed workers facing financial hardship.

“Continued efforts to reduce waiting times must be pursued without compromising the quality of arbitration awards,” he said.

The anniversary comes as government considers proposed amendments to labour legislation that could strengthen worker protections and expand the CCMA’s powers.

The proposed changes include protections for workers employed under on-call, zero-hours and similar arrangements. These could cover guaranteed working hours, scheduling requirements and compensation when work is cancelled without proper notice.

Other proposals include increasing statutory severance pay for retrenchments from one to two weeks’ remuneration for every completed year of service.

The amendments would also strengthen the CCMA’s powers to enforce compliance orders and allow employees to refer harassment claims to the commission.

Sibiya stressed that the proposals remained subject to consultation and parliamentary consideration and were not yet law.

He said CCMA has expanded from 10 offices at its establishment to 25 and has introduced digital services to improve access to assistance.

These include a free online labour advice tool and a WhatsApp chatbot launched in July 2026.

He added the commission received 62 927 referrals in its first year and now handles approximately three times that number annually.

Looking ahead, Sibiya identified unemployment, changing employment arrangements, legislative reform and institutional sustainability as key challenges.

He urged employers to engage the CCMA before issuing retrenchment notices to explore alternatives to job losses. He also called on government departments to make greater use of the commission’s labour-market data.

“Our collective responsibility over the next thirty years is to ensure that every worker in the Republic has access to justice,” Sibiya said.