Irasa
Building Construction in Pretoria

IRASA: An ongoing forum for constructive relationship building that benefits labour.

For many years the absence of a coherent national body dedicated to ER issues and accessible to anyone with an interest in the subject was a source of concern. In the early 1990's a group of practitioners got together to form IRasa. Industrial Relations professionals were often members of associations in generic or allied fields such as personnel, human resources, psychology, law, other human sciences or academia. However it was recognised that their speciality set ER practitioners apart and created unique needs which were not satisfied by membership of other professional groups, which tended to blur or alter the ER component. Furthermore a specialised reputable body was needed to interact locally and internationally with other influential bodies and opinion-formers. To become a vibrant Organisation enhancing Employment Relations through debate and dialogue. To facilitate an ongoing forum for constructive relationship building. To deal with themes of relevance to the South African Employment Relations community. To enhance the understanding, knowledge and practices of Employment Relations at National, Regional and branch levels in South Africa. The Industrial Relations Association of South Africa (IRasa) was founded as a non-profit association in IRasa has the unique advantage of catering for the needs of a wide range of stakeholders involved in employment relations. The stakeholders include employment relations and human resources practitioners (including employers’ associations and trade unions), ER and HR consultants, labour lawyers, academics and students, bargaining councils, the CCMA, state departments and other interested parties. IRasa is therefore in a position to present a holistic understanding of employment relations. IRasa’s vision is to contribute in a meaningful way to the creation of sound employment relations in South Africa in a manner that maximizes the performance and wellbeing of all participants within a framework of fairness, dignity and mutual respect. It aims to achieve this role by means of a variety of activities including open discussion forums with inputs from experts with differing perspectives; seminars and workshops where concrete and contemporary issues are tackled, and best practice presentations where leading and cutting edge organisations spell out their formulae for success. In addition, it holds an annual conference where top speakers present talks and papers on a wide range of issues. This is a prestigious event at which experts from across the world present the latest developments and research on employment relations and numerous related topics. Membership Benefits What are some of the benefits you as member of IRASA can expect.