The project was launched in March 2016 in the Western Cape Fruit Sector in collaboration with the Fruit Industry Value Chain Roundtable (FIVCRT), and would run until November 2016.
CCMA director, Cameron Sello Morajane, explained that the workplace mediation process aimed to reduce conflict in the workplace that occurred between the employer and employee(s), or between employees.
Morajane said that the benefits of workplace mediation included improving working relationships, as well as preventing the escalation of conflict. It also had the potential to reduce the use of formal disciplinary and grievance procedures.
“The process does not replace or undermine existing workplace internal disciplinary and grievance procedures”, he said.
“If workplace mediation fails to resolve the problem, the employer may institute disciplinary proceedings or [the] employee may invoke grievance procedure depending on [the] nature of problem. It also does not hinder [the] referral of a dispute to the CCMA,” he added.
The CCMA told Farmer’s Weekly that the agricultural sector’s case referrals for the period of August 2015 and August 2016 were both at 4%.
The service was also expected to be rolled out to other sectors.
