The advent of the Relations Act 660of 1995 (LRA) raised expectations about the fundamental change in the nature of South African labour relations and of effective dispute resolution and collective bargaining in particular. For many observers, the replacement of the Industrial Court by the CCMA signalled a shift from a highly adversarial model of relations to one based on promoting greater co-operation, industrial peace and social justice. The apparent shift seems all the more plausible as an unfolding democratisation process intersects with the challenges of a highly competitive globalised economy, new forms of work organisation and participative decision making. In South Africa the mechanisms offered for dispute resolution in the previous LRA, namely: Conciliation Boards and the Industrial Court lacked credibility with the State's social partners, organised business and organised labour and resulted in a very low settlement rate of disputes.