William Thomson

William is a CEDR (UK) accredited mediator, a UCT School of Business graduate, and an internationally accredited coach and he is also a research associate in the Faculties of Law at UCT and UWC. William holds a B Soc Sc from UCT, B Proc and LLB from South Africa, an LLM in Commercial Law from UCT and a DPLR from the Graduate School of Business UNISA. 

He is a member of the Conflict Dynamics Panel of mediators, facilitators, chairpersons and coaches.

ADR processes were introduced to the South African labour market in the early 1980’s by the Independent Mediation Service of South Africa (IMSSA) where mediation and arbitration were offered as alternatives to the statutory conciliation boards, industrial councils and litigation in the Industrial Court. The success of these processes led to the establishment of structures under the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (LRA), where the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), Bargaining Councils and accredited private dispute resolution agencies now provide ADR and other dispute resolution, prevention and conflict management processes.

The LRA has, as its purpose, the advancement of economic development, social justice, labour peace and workplace democracy, and it provides a framework for the resolution of labour disputes, the protection of employees’ rights and the regulation of labour relations.[1]

Workplace mediation is a highly effective mechanism for managing and resolving individual and group conflict within the workplace. It is particularly useful where relationships have soured and there is a genuine desire to resolve the difficulties without resorting to formal procedures, for example, dismissal. Situations where bullying and harassment, exclusion, discrimination, and bias have been alleged also lend themselves very suitably to workplace mediation. Where employers and employees have received workplace mediation training to equip them with the practical skills to both serve as internal mediators as well as to enable them to more effectively manage their conflicts, there has been positive feedback on how these internal processes have built trust, improved communication and co-operation in their respective work environments.

A Code of Good Practice exists for Collective Bargaining and Workplace Democracy and Dialogue,[2] and it is recommended that a separate Code be developed for workplace mediation, dispute resolution, conflict management and dialogue. Ingredients of the Collective Bargaining Code could be transplanted into the latter code to provide for the training and capacitation of the parties, the sharing of information and, where appropriate, for the provision of the independent mediation and facilitation of these workplace processes. 

In the interim however, through relationship building (RBO) and similar processes, workplace parties have and are already developing their own relationship pledges, charters, compacts and ‘declarations of good faith’ to engage each other in more meaningful and informed ways.