The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) will, by May 9, publish new directives on the way it will operate going forward.

CCMA director Cameron Sello Morajane in a live social media broadcast on May 8 confirmed that the commission would, in the week ending May 15, be readying its offices across the country, in terms of disinfection and physical distance markings, to reopen for business on May 18.

During the national Phase 5 lockdown, the CCMA did not operate at its full capacity, and did not undertake any face-to-face meetings, but still processed applications online.

Morajane said the CCMA had taken note of many small and medium-sized businesses closing, as well as large firms going into business rescue.

He predicted that a unemployment rate of between 40% and 50% was likely to ensue in the coming months.

Morajane confirmed that the CCMA had received submissions about 17 large-scale dismissals, affecting at least 3 300 employees, as well as 151 no-fault referrals in terms of retrenchments that are not large-scale.

He expects the number of applications to greatly increase once the CCMA’s offices reopen, as these were only online applications received during the five weeks of lockdown.

NEW NORMAL

Morajane said people could expect a different type of commission as a result of Covid-19.

For example, commissioners would deal with cases at the CCMA’s offices, as well as travel to different workplaces to deal with matters there. This is to limit many people gathering in one place.

The CCMA already started conducting Web-based hearings, through video conferencing applications, based on consent from disputing parties and would continue to do so.

Web-based hearings might become compulsory in future, depending on how the Covid-19 crisis pans out.

However, Morajane said the CCMA’s offices would still be used for hearings that were not at all able to proceed digitally.

He added that the Web-based hearings still enabled it to test the credibility and character of witnesses, as would be the case with face-to-face hearings.

The CCMA will also partner with government departments to ensure that more venues are available for hearings, to ensure that people do not have to travel extensive distances to CCMA offices and to also limit large gatherings of people in one building or small spaces.

Morajane assured the country that the CCMA’s staff members were being equipped with personal protective gear and were being briefed on the appropriate hygiene measures to ensure they did not contract or spread the virus.

The CCMA was also decentralising its call centre. Morajane said the commission was putting in place an automated call system to redirect calls to the correct provincial office so that matters could be dealt with more directly and speedily with the relevant office.

Morajane noted that all matters that could be resolved through paperwork either physically or electronically will be dealt with in this manner, including condonation applications and some cases dealing with pay disputes, in the interest of time.

The CCMA is developing digital referral forms, to minimise physical visits to CCMA offices, as these forms would normally be obtained physically.

Morajane said matters that came before Covid-19 and amid the lockdown were in the process of being rescheduled. There would be no prioritisation of certain cases and the commission would endeavour to finalise cases as speedily as it could, while remaining cognisant of health and safety.

“There will be time blocks for arbitrations, because we cannot overload the CCMA, we have to do this incrementally to ensure the safety of staff and society,” he added.

He further urged employers and employees to remain alert to phone calls from the CCMA on matters that were in the process of conciliation. Morajane explained that the CCMA would attempt to maximise the pre-conciliation process through means of telephone calls.

“Pre-conciliations have been successful to date, especially those that involve, for example, domestic workers. Allow us to expedite the case backlog by answering our calls,” he requested of the public.