A comparative survey of the law relating to strikes in South Africa and the Netherlands

Abstract

In the first section of the dissertation, strike law in the Netherlands is focused upon. The following issues are inter alia dealt with: the historical background of the strike phenomenon, the right to strike and restrictions on this right, the reluctance of the Dutch legislature to legislate in the field of industrial action, and the directly applicable provisions of the European Social Charter. The second section of the dissertation deals with South African strike law and also starts off with a discussion of the historical background thereof, whereafter the provisions of the 1995 Labour Relations Act are analysed and discussed. The third and last section highlights some of the major differences and points to some similarities between the two legal systems. It concludes that the detailed South African labour legislation does not provide more certainty than the Dutch judge-made law in respect of the law relating to strikes.