Government has announced the appointment of Mr John Frederick Slater as its lead negotiator for the 2021/22 wage negotiations at the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC).
The Department of Public Service and Administration described Mr Slater, as a specialist in collective bargaining and is a trained educator with extensive experience in Public Service Labour Relations and Human Resource Management.
Mr Slater has extensive exposure to the Union environment and Government and his expertise will strengthen the negotiation team supporting Government.
Mr Slater founded his collective bargaining roots in the Northern Cape where he was the leading negotiator for Labour and later for the Northern Cape Department of Education NCDoE (1997 � 2007).
He then joined the National Department of Education as the Director: Education Labour Relations and Conditions of Service, where he represented the Government in the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) and the PSCBC (2007 � 2010).
In 2010, Mr Slater was transferred to the newly established Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), where he continued to lead negotiations and formulated negotiation strategies for the department.
During his tenure, he served on the Executive Committees of both the ELRC and the PSCBC. He also represented the State on the Finance Committees of these institutions.
He was a member of the Employer Caucus of the State, negotiating in the PSCBC and provided the necessary support to the negotiations team of the DPSA.
In 2015, he completed an International Labour Organisation (ILO) course for negotiators where he learned the art and skill of social dialogue and collective bargaining.
In his engagements in the labour relations environment, he has demonstrated that matters of conflict can be resolved through continued social dialogue.
In 2016, he exited the employment of the State to pursue other interests, but always remained involved within the labour relations environment.
