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Soldiers' union takes on top brass Military personnel go to Constitutional Court to get right to collective bargaining International Affairs Editor WHETHER soldiers should have full labour rights has yet to be fully resolved more than 10 years after a military union was established. Earlier this week, SA's largest military union again took the defence department to the Constitutional Court, this time to gain the right to collective bargaining.

Few countries allow their armed forces to belong to trade unions, and even fewer allow collective bargaining. Only Sweden gives its military the right to strike.

Apart from in SA and Australia, military unions are not found outside Europe. In Europe, the number has risen over the past 30 years. Membership of the European Organisation of Military Associations has risen from seven bodies in 1972 to 32 associations from 22 countries.

One of the most recent associations to be launched is the British Armed Forces Federation which campaigns on a variety of issues, including increased pay for personnel taking part in combat operations.

Globally, the extension of rights and the changing workplace, as well as the changing nature of warfare, are forcing militaries to adapt their management of employee relations. In modern warfare, particularly counter-insurgency, low-ranking officers are making crucial decisions and senior officers are well aware of how important it is to listen, rather than to give orders.

SA's Constitutional Court gave military personnel the right to belong to trade unions in a 1999 decision. However, the South African National Defence Union (Sandu), the largest military union in SA, this week asked the Constitutional Court to decide whether there existed a duty by the defence force to engage in collective bargaining. There is dispute about whether this was a right that was implied in the 1999 decision and lower courts have given contradictory judgments on this.

Had the court addressed a wider range of issues, the turbulent relationship between the SANDF and Sandu may have been avoided, say observers.

Sandu represents about 26000 of the SANDF's total uniformed strength of 65000. It draws its members from ranks up to colonel and across all races. Another union, the South African Security Forces' Union, has a membership of 12000, short of the 15000 required for recognition by the SANDF. One of the leading authorities on military unions, Lindy Heinecken, associate professor in the sociology and social anthropology department at the University of Stellenbosch, says relations between the SANDF and Sandu have been antagonistic and confrontational from the outset. The unions have had to rely on the courts to gain concessions, rather than on collective bargaining, she says.

It is an us-versus-them attitude from both unions and the defence force, says Heinecken, who with Richard Bartle has edited a recently published book, Military Unionism in the Post Cold War era: A future reality? The SANDF is still rigidly authoritarian which has made dispute resolution more cumbersome, she says. Another reason for the animosity, she says, is because Sandu operates as a trade union and less like a professional association, as do most overseas military unions.

Unions are widely viewed in many defence forces as inimical to running a well functioning military. Open dissent and questioning of commands can amount to insubordination or mutiny. But with the emergence of rights-based cultures, the military has had to respond differently. They have often done so with the creation of channels to address grievances, such as an ombudsmen. Like professional associations, military unions often hold informed views on such issues as equipment, training and quality. Military unions are also restricted by military law and discipline.

Heinecken claims military unions can help build consensus and provide an effective mechanism for the resolution of grievances. They can also help avoid clashes and instil discipline. The example of an effective and co-operative armed forces union is the one in Germany, she says. Neither Sandu nor the SANDF were available for comment yesterday.