ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the institutional changes introduced into the new industrial relations system following the official termination of the apartheid regime in 1994. An analysis of South African policy making in industrial relations can usefully be conducted by reference to more generic transformation theses and contemporary discussions concerning comparative industrial relations in transition. 'Democratic corporatism' in South Africa is likely to compel unions to maintain a degree of decentralization within their structures while simultaneously ensuring a great deal of co-ordination between their different operational levels. Reformers have felt that transforming the legal-institutional framework in line with 'democratic corporatist' principles has put structures in place capable of fostering 'good' relations between state, capital and labour. Necessary though an authoritative central employer body is for effective tripartism, it is insufficient of itself in determining that nascent 'democratic corporatism' flourishes in place of adversarialism.
