BookReview.qxd


BOOK REVIEW 109

Review: Nel, P.S. (editor) (2002) 

South African Employment Relations – Theory and Practice 

Van Schaik Publishers

Reviewer: Karen Hinrichs

This is the new edition of the previously published South African

Industrial Relations and it specifically sets out to revisit this body

of knowledge and update “theorists and practitioners” on

developments in the field of labour or employment relations

since 1999. 

The approach and structure of the book are covered on page 30

(only – it would have been useful to have understood these

upfront or at least earlier, especially that there would be some

emphasis on “ ... more cooperative consensus-seeking modes of

interaction in employment relations”)

The layout and format of the book, with specific reference to

step-by-step actions, guidelines and the use of the case study,

ensure that it will be a welcome addition to the tools available

for teaching and learning in the field. It must be mentioned

however, that in perusing the contents in some detail for the

purposes of reviewing the book, I was not struck by a

fundamentally new and/or different way of looking at

industrial/labour/employment relations. For example, our

understanding of conflict seems still to be based on the concept

as defined in the mid seventies! Whether these particular

authors should take responsibility for moving beyond this way

of seeing the relationship is, of course, debatable but it does

seem like it is time to move on!

That said, some attention is indeed paid to emerging trends, for

example in chapter 1, there is a discussion about moving from

a tripartite to a pentagonal employment relations system and

in chapter 4, trends in the trade movement are covered.

However, the detail in the writing tends to be somewhat

academic as evidenced (for example) on page 234 “... The

institution of workplace forums ... is a novel approach to

organisation-level representation.” This is true but what is not

mentioned is that for a variety of reasons Workplace Forums

have failed to meet expectations and their potential has not

really been realised at all.

As a matter of interest, it is not clear whether the lack of

‘answers/suggested responses’ to the case studies is an indication

that the reader will know which way to go or that progress

through the book has to be a facilitated process.

In conclusion, this book is a solid, accurate representation of

‘what is’ and in that sense, it is a useful and comprehensive

reference for learners and (less experienced?) practitioners as

well as academics but, it is not a beacon of ‘what could or even

should be’. The contributors to this book would certainly be

well-equipped to fill this critical gap in the market.