Meet Richard Pretorius
He is a qualified educator by profession and was subsequently appointed as the Director Labour
Relations by the Eastern Cape Education Department from 2002 until 2015. He is currently serving as a
part-time commissioner for the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (the CCMA). He
is also serving as a panelist on numerous bargaining councils, namely, the Education Labour Relations
Council (ELRC), General Public Service Sectoral Bargaining Council (GPSSBC), Public Service Co-
ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC), Public Health and Social Development Sectoral Bargaining
Council (PHSDSBC), Safety and Security Sectoral Bargaining Council (SSSBC), Dispute Resolution
Council (DRC) and the Bargaining Council for the Civil Engineering Industry (BCCEI).
The highlight of his career thus far is the exposure that he had in the global arena of industrial relations.
It has totally transformed his thinking about the workplace and its dynamics. In this regard, he attended,
inter alia the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Geneva, Switzerland (2014); the International
Industrial Relations Association (IIRA), Sydney, Australia (2009); the IIRA, Berlin, Germany (2003); the
IIRA, Makati City, Philippines (2001) and the IIRA, Tokyo, Japan (2000).
He obtained his LLM (Labour Law) from the Nelson Mandela University (NMU) and also passed with
distinction the Programme in Labour Law Practice (CCMA accredited) from the NMU.
He successfully concluded the following specialised CCMA training courses, i.e., section 189A
facilitation, unfair discrimination & sexual harassment in the workplace, Employment Equity Act 55 of
1998 (EEA), section 198A-D of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (LRA) regarding non-standard
dispute resolution and the Essential Service Committee (ESC) training for commissioners.
He has extensive experience in collective bargaining in the public sector and was directly involved in
wage negotiations at the level of the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (the PSCBC) as
well as negotiations involving Occupation Specific Dispensation (OSD) agreements across various
public sector bargaining councils. He also served as the chief negotiator for the State as Employer in
the ELRC.
He joins the RWA team as Consulting Labour Relations Specialist. When he has some free time, he loves playing golf.
Email: admin@rwalabour.co.za