Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC)

The vision of the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) is to improve the quality of teaching and learning through labour peace. The ELRC is a bargaining council that serves the public education sector nationally and provincially.

The primary business of the ELRC is to promote the maintenance of labour peace in the public education sector, through the provision of dispute resolution and prevention services. The secondary business of the ELRC is to promote the maintenance of labour peace in the public education sector through the facilitation of negotiations between trade unions and the state as the employer.

The Council’s strategic outcome-orientated goals are to: provide an evidence base for improved policies and policy implementation in basic education through research and monitoring, and evaluation activities; attach equal importance to proactive dispute prevention and dispute resolution; maximise the scope of parties’ shared interest through collective bargaining processes; provide appropriate support and training for all involved in dispute resolution and collective bargaining; and support and complement the core activities of the Council through sound communication strategies, special initiatives and campaigns.