The commission will arrange a venue and time for the conciliation, and will inform both parties. At the conciliation meeting, the commissioner meets with the two parties to the dispute to find ways to settle the dispute to everyone’s satisfaction. The meeting is conducted in an informal way and the commissioner can meet the parties together or separately, as often as is needed. The commissioner has the power to subpoena any person to attend the meeting.

The commissioner must try to resolve the dispute within 30 days of it being referred to the CCMA or Bargaining Council. The employee/s and employer are free to agree to any solution to settle the dispute at a conciliation meeting.

A certificate will be issued by the commissioner at the end of the meeting to say whether the dispute has been settled or not.