During the last year, Ink Specialists Pty Ltd pen manufacturers, which employs employees from diverse backgrounds, lost a large sum of money due to pilfering by employees, particularly those who operate in the warehouse where the packing is done for retailers. One afternoon one of the security guards discovered, after a routine check at the security gate, that a packer - named Maria Mudau - with 10 years' service at Ink Specialists Pty Ltd - has ten ballpoint pens in her trouser pocket. After a disciplinary interview, management decides that Maria was guilty of unauthorised possession of company property, and that in terms of the disciplinary code she should be dismissed. Her disciplinary record shows that she has had no previous convictions of any kind, but she was still dismissed. During the following lunch break, the workers decide to not return to work, as a sign of solidarity that Maria should not be dismissed. They also wish to discuss the new leave arrangements and nightshift allowance with management, and they want higher wages. Khulani Buthelezi - the general manager who only speaks Zulu in the workplace - then makes a statement to the workforce that the shop stewards who initiated the prolonged work stoppage will be suspended until a disciplinary hearing determines whether they should be dismissed for intimidation. After lunch the workforce again refuses to work, because the shop steward (Jan Meiring) has been suspended. They go on a full-scale strike and insist that they will not return to work until the shop steward is reinstated and management has resolved their grievances. Khulani Buthelezi now informs the workers that: "I am going to get the police in to remove the striking no-good retards from the premises."

1.Assuming that the parties fail to resolve their issues and a third party (CCMA) has to intervene, explain the role and function of the CCMA in dispute resolution.

2. Based on the underlying issues that were identified in Assignment 1, what are the most popular macro-external variables that shape the business environment? Pay specific attention to their effect on labour or employment relations in the Ink Specialists Pty Ltd case study. (15)

3. After advising management on the various types of strikes, management furthermore ask you as a registered Industrial Psychologist to share with them the value you can add in the employment and labour relations before they ask you to intervene with your expertise. Write some notes in which you explain this value to management.