Conciliation at the CSOS

16 April 2021 | Zerlinda van der Merwe

This article will be taking a look at the process of conciliation at the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS). Once you, as the applicant, have submitted your application for dispute resolution, accepted by the CSOS, and responded to by the respondent, the next step will be conciliation, with a CSOS employed conciliator (mediator) to attempt mutual resolution of the dispute at hand.

A quick internet search of the word "conciliation" took me to the explanation of "the action of stopping someone being angry". What a spot on definition of what conciliation should be all about. Unfortunately, at least in my experience, I have not always found this to be the case, and matters are generally referred to adjudication, either immediately during the conciliation proceedings or after a failed attempt at adhering to an agreement made during the process.

Now, what should you know before going into conciliation? The conciliator is not there to give you advice, to take sides, or to force you to accept a settlement agreement. The conciliator is there, however, to make sure that the parties respect one another and that, if possible, a resolution can be made or a further opportunity is granted to get there.

Conciliation proceedings are scheduled telephonically, by non-recorded conference call, for a duration of only 1 hour. Therefore, both parties had best be prepared to briefly state their case and what they hope to achieve, or, at the outset, note that no agreement is possible such that the matter can be referred to adjudication.

In order to keep your presentation short and sweet, make sure that you have set out all you wanted to say and refer to in your application or response to the application, and simply refer to it, by emphasising what you would like to have as an outcome of the proceedings. Conciliation is not the time to take the conciliator and "other side" on a long journey through what's already been stated. There simply isn't the time for it, and it will take away from the possibility of engagement and resolution.

If resolution is possible, the conciliator will either allow the parties to engage offline and revert with a settlement, alternatively, the conciliator will draw up a settlement agreement, for both parties to sign acceptance of, which agreement must be adhered to, otherwise it can be made an adjudication order and enforced as such. However, if no settlement can be reached, the conciliator will refer the dispute to adjudication for resolution and an order.

There is nothing wrong with, at the outset of the conciliation proceedings, to state that no resolution is possible, provided that the parties have tried to settle the matter before referring it to the CSOS in the first instance. If this is not the case, the parties, in good faith, should attempt resolution by positively engaging with one another, under the facilitation of the conciliator.

Do you have any questions on this topic or need our assistance? Please contact us on 061 536 3138 or email info@tvdmconsultants.com.