Abstract
Frequent, lengthy and violent strikes challenge Labour Relations in South Africa (SA). This has been a cause for concern for the mining sector, which has seen frequent labour unrest. It can be argued that labour unrest can be addressed through meaningful employee participation in decision-making. Meaningful employee participation is a technique that includes all employees in an organisation rather than selecting a few individuals from top management to make decisions for the entire organisation. However, employees have placed serious allegations against their employers that they do not include them in decision-making processes that affect them. In many organisations, top management tends to make unilateral decisions that become difficult to execute because they are not received well by low-level employees. As a result, workforce discontent, industrial action and various forms of labour dissatisfaction result from excluding employees from participating in matters that affect them. This study aimed to establish whether poor employee participation in decision-making contributes to labour unrest in the South African mining sector.
A qualitative research approach, using semi-structured interviews, was conducted with employees that occupy low-level positions within a mining organisation. The selected participants are relevant and suitable for the study because they are better positioned to determine whether meaningful employee participation in decision-making exists in the South African mining sector. The study found that there is poor employee participation in decision-making in the South African mining sector. Trade unions and management are significant role players in employee participation. Therefore, the limitations of these key role players influence poor employee participation and labour unrest. A positive relationship between poor employee participation and labour unrest was established, leading to the recommendation that mining management must implement practical corrective measures to ensure meaningful employee participation in decision-making that will contribute significantly to reducing strike action. The research highlighted the issue of poor employee participation in decision-making and the impact thereof on labour unrest. It contributes theoretically to the existing body of knowledge regarding employee participation and labour unrest, particularly within the mining sector and the broader Labour Relations field.