Abstract
The need to earn a living necessitates that people enter the labour market. However, this is not without the many challenges that they are faced with. All laws in South Africa are based upon the supreme law being the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. This enshrines the Bill of Rights from which various other pieces of legislation stems. Labour rights are extremely important in a climate where vulnerable workers make up a large population of the workforce. This study will expound on the most important labour legislation in South Africa and how these principles are developed through our courts.
Workers are faced with the harsh realities of discrimination in the workplace. This can result in harassment, sexual harassment as well as other forms of bullying. To create a safe and healthy working environment, we take a look at what the legislature has promulgated and the remedies, if any, that exist for victims of these injustices. It goes without saying that labour and working is a global concept, and there is the need for an inquiry into how international instruments addresses these injustices in the workplace. Thus, there is an evaluation of international labour laws on harassment and bullying in the workplace. This evaluation will be based on some of the most crucial instruments from the ILO, and the UN.
Additionally, this study will provide a comparative analysis of the labour laws in the EU, Sweden and UK. The reason for this comparison is to provide an illustration of how different jurisdictions deal with similar issues in the workplace. Sweden has been one of the first countries to discover and provide solutions to workplace bullying. While the UK has quite effective dispute resolution systems in place. Lastly, it will be determined whether any of these solutions can be implemented into the already existing laws and remedies in South Africa. It is important to draw a conclusion on the above with a list of recommendations that will be beneficial to South Africa. All role players should take an active stance in finding the appropriate remedies to workplace violations.