Military Unionism in South Africa: Legality and Potential for Development

Heinecken, Lindy

doi:10.1080/10246029.1995.9627643

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…80 The emergence of trade unions for military personnel -which challenge order and obedience as the basic tenets of military culturetypifies this new development. 81 Military service has been gradually commodified, in the sense that a public, non-market service is being substituted by market services and turned into a commodity -a job for pay. 82 Not only has soldiering come to be regulated by the market, but supplementary military services are also increasingly supplied by private companies, including the revival of mercenarism in several conflict areas in the world.…”

Section: B the Alteration Of The Militaries' Social Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soldiers as laborers: A theoretical model

Levy

2007

Theor Soc

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Section: B the Alteration Of The Militaries' Social Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soldiers as laborers: A theoretical model

Levy

2007

Theor Soc

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“…A reason to unionise alone is not enough; it should be supported by the mood to unionize. Similar to other organisations, the mood to organise is generated by perceptions of individual deprivation which becomes concerted into a sense of collective deprivation [40]. Studies of collective bargaining found that unionised employees express greater dissatisfaction with their jobs than their counterparts [41].…”

Section: The Mood To Unionisementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the presence of the mood and the motive to unionize, there also need to be an opportunity to unionise. The opportunity does not only relate to possible legal constraints, but the chances that it will be accepted within the social and political environment [40]. In SA, the open disdain towards MTUs expressed by military leadership created sympathy from certain quarters of the society.…”

Section: The Opportunity To Unionisementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 2009, the leadership of the SANDF arranged for the withdrawal of permission for the planned march to the Union Buildings just a few hours before it was scheduled to start [11]. The protest march was also coined 'a strike' by soldiers disobeying orders and walking off the job whereas in fact, most of the soldiers have been granted leave to participate in the protest and approval had been granted by the Tshwane Metro Council for the march to proceed [46]. The Minister also dismissed the union members who participated in the march and were visible on the police footage [11].…”

Section: The Military Leadership Positionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Trade Union in the Sandf: The Inevitable Consequence of Incompatible Values

Kgosana¹

2012

J Def Manag

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The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has recently been plagued by incessant clashes between organisational political leadership and trade unions. The culminating point was the memorable march to Union Building that led to physical clashes between the police and unionised soldiers. That incident created a disparaging image of the military as the protector of the society. The situation necessitated a poignant question to be asked about the causes of that scene and the reasons for the existence of military trade unions (MTUs) in the SANDF. Generally, the underlying cause of unionization in organisations is the dissatisfaction with human resources management practices and the unresponsive leadership. In the SANDF the dissatisfaction is rooted in dichotomous values harboured by soldiers and their leaders. The political leaders expect and demand professional orientation while soldiers ascribe to occupational orientation. This mismatch of values led to perceptions of violation of psychological contract. Due to the power dynamics characterising every employment relationship, employees have a low bargaining power hence join trade unions to help convey their discontent. This decision was unwelcome by organisational political leadership, with resultant focus on fighting unions rather than solving issues affecting soldiers. The protracted differences have been characterised by interminable court cases and clashes between leadership and MTUs. This paper will theoretically discuss the causes of inevitable different values between leadership and soldiers, the perceptions of violation of psychological contract and the sequence of requirements that need to be met before unionization can occur in the military. Lastly, conclusions and recommendations will be suggested that can help to diffuse the adversarial relationship between MTUs and organisational leadership and lead to the desired professional military.

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South Africa: Ten Years of Military Unionism

Heinecken¹

Military Missions and Their Implications Reconsidered: The Aftermath of September 11th

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Military Unionism in South Africa: Legality and Potential for Development

Cited by 3 publications

References 2 publications

Soldiers as laborers: A theoretical model

Soldiers as laborers: A theoretical model

Trade Union in the Sandf: The Inevitable Consequence of Incompatible Values

South Africa: Ten Years of Military Unionism

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