O'Donoghue Attorneys

Bargaining Councils

WHAT IS A BARGAINING COUNCIL AND WHY SHOULD I JOIN?

The short answer:

It is a council that governs over a certain industry and yes, if your business falls within such industry you should join.

The long answer:

In South Africa employment is governed by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act which of course sets out the basic conditions such as hours of work, overtime, leave and sick leave, to name just a few. Certain industries however find it unsatisfactory to operate strictly under these conditions and in such instances trade unions and employers’ organisations may form bargaining councils. 

It all starts with a collective agreement regarding conditions of employment in a certain industry between a trade union/s and an employers’ organisation/s.

I know what you are thinking. What has this got to do with me when I’m not a party to the agreement?

Section 32(5) of the Labour Relations Act gives the Minister of Labour discretion to extend a collective agreement to non-parties if the parties to the bargaining council are sufficiently representative within the registered scope of the council and if the Minister is satisfied that failure to extend the agreement may undermine collective bargaining at sectoral level.

When the Minister extends a collective agreement to non-parties the non-parties are required to comply if they fall within the scope and application of the agreement.

Now, to be clear, there are different bargaining councils for different industries. Some bargaining councils may apply nationally and others only in certain areas.

E.g.

·         The Metal Engineering Industries Bargaining Council applies nationally. Any business falling within their scope in the whole of South Africa is obliged to be a member.

·         The Building Industry has different bargaining councils for different areas and these councils only apply in those areas, namely Bloemfontein, Boland, Cape of Good Hope, East London, Kimberley and the Southern and Eastern Cape. A business falling within their scope in these specific areas is obliged to be a member.

Where your business does not fall within the scope and application of any bargaining council it will be governed by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.

As it is a statutory obligation to register with a bargaining council when you fall under their scope and application I suggest you make quick work of finding out where your business stands as the repercussions can be quite severe.