'Who Ate the Cheese?' The CCMA's collapse and the betrayal of South African workers

The Star

20-05-2025

When Thandi, a domestic worker in Johannesburg, was unfairly dismissed without severance pay, she turned to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA), a body designed to protect workers like her.
Today, Thandi waits endlessly for justice. The CCMA, once a beacon of post-apartheid labour reform, is collapsing under maladministration, corruption, and the deafening silence of those meant to safeguard it.
A Legislative Promise Betrayed Established under Section 112 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) and enshrined in Section 23 of the Constitution, the CCMA was created to 'advance economic development, social justice, labour peace, and the democratisation of the workplace.'
As a Schedule 3a entity under the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), it is mandated to operate independently, free from political, union, or corporate influence. Its functions, from conciliating disputes to training on labour law, were designed to empower workers. Yet today, the CCMA's doors are closing. Service centres in Black communities—critical for workers without digital access — have shuttered. Walk-in advice desks, once lifelines for the vulnerable, are gone. The nightmare began in late 2020, when budget cuts axed part-time commissioners, stranding thousands of cases. What was framed as a 'temporary measure' has become a permanent injustice.
A Competent Leader, Shackled by Neglect
To blame the CCMA's collapse on institutional incompetence would be a lie. The current Director, Advocate Cameron Morajane, is a seasoned labour law expert with a track record of integrity. Colleagues praise his commitment to fairness and the innovative traits evident in his push for digitising case management and expanding rural outreach.
Yet even the most capable leader cannot perform miracles without resources. The Director's hands are tied. With a stagnant budget and a 40% reduction in part-time commissioners since 2020, his team is forced to triage cases. 'We're firefighting, not fireproofing,' a staffer admitted anonymously.
The Director's proposals for sustainable funding models, including public-private partnerships, gather dust in Treasury offices. Competence means little when the system is designed to fail. Who Benefits from the CCMA's Decline? The answer lies in who 'ate the cheese.' While workers suffer, employers flout labour laws with impunity. Unfair dismissals, retrenchments, and workplace exploitation surge as the CCMA buckles.
Yet the state, led by former trade unionists, turns a blind eye. These leaders rode to power on the backs of workers like Thandi, but now preside over the erosion of their rights. Equally culpable are South Africa's labour federations, who sit on the CCMA's board through Nedlac, earning lucrative fees while workers starve.
Their silence is deafening. Where is the outrage over closed service centres? Where is the demand for accountability? Their inaction suggests complicity in a system where justice is rationed for the privileged.
The Human Cost of Institutional Rot
The CCMA's R900 million budget (unchanged since 2023) is dwarfed by entities like the Competition Commission (R1.4 billion). Meanwhile, the Labour Court backlog now exceeds 18 months — a direct result of the CCMA's paralysis. Workers wait six months for hearings; others give up entirely. This isn't bureaucratic failure — it's systemic betrayal.
The victims are always the same: Black workers in townships, domestic employees, and farm labourers. They are dismissed without pay, harassed without recourse, and silenced without a platform. The constitutional 'safety net' is a cruel illusion.
Reclaiming the CCMA's Mandate: To salvage the CCMA, three steps are urgent:
1. Increase funding and reinstate part-time commissioners, reopen service centres, and modernise systems.
2. Hold labour federations accountable and change the status of their board seats to advocacy, not apathy.
3. Prosecute employers who exploit the CCMA's collapse to violate labour laws.
The question remains: Who ate the cheese?
• Was it the state officials diverting funds? •
The federation pocketing board fees? or •
Are the employers thriving in chaos?
Until this is answered, the CCMA's promise remains a carcass picked clean by vultures — and even its most capable leaders are left powerless. South Africa's workers deserve more than crumbs. They deserve justice.
Tahir Maepa, the Secretary General of the Public Service and Commercial Union of South Africa, and founder of the Resistance Against Impunity Movement