What is a Bargaining Council?
A Bargaining Council can be established by either one or more Employers Organisations or Workers Unions. They must be registered under the Labour Relations Act for a specific sector or industry. A list of registered Bargaining Councils can be found on the CCMA or Department of Labour website/s for ease of reference. As mentioned these Bargaining Councils are not only limited or restricted to a specific industry, but also by the type of matters as well as disputes that they are allowed to deal with.
Do I have to register with a Bargaining Council for my industry/sector?
Registration with a Bargaining Council is sometimes mandatory. For example, if you own a workshop that deals with vehicle services and repairs, you would then register with MIBCO (Motor Industry Bargaining Council). Registration with some Bargaining Councils is however not mandatory. There are also Bargaining Councils that only have authority in specific provinces. To fully understand if you are required to register with a Bargaining Council as an employer, you would generally need to read the main agreement of such Bargaining Council.
What does a Bargaining Council do?
- They assist with policy considerations that affect a specific industry by submitting proposals or recommendations on legislature when invited to do so;
- If an accredited Bargaining Council exists for a specific industry, then they would have jurisdiction over the CCMA in some instances;
- Assist in creating and enforcing collective agreements;
- Creating schemes to promote training and education within its industry;
- Some have a faster turnaround time than the CCMA, meaning disputes are resolved without huge backlogs which are experienced at the CCMA;
- They further assist in ensuring that salaries within their scope of application are per the industry standard (grading).
In some or most instances employers only become aware that they are required to join a Bargaining Council when a representative notifies them thereof. This would normally be remedied by joining the Bargaining Council and paying a penalty in accordance with the collective agreement of that Bargaining Council, if applicable.
If you feel that it is an onerous task to understand the main agreement or a compliance notice, contact your nearest SEESA office or leave your details on our SEESA website.
About the Author:
Megashlin Naidoo (Admitted Attorney) has been with SEESA since 2014 as a Labour / BBBEE Legal Advisor. His legal background is that of Criminal and Civil litigation, Family Law, Labour Law, Compliance and Insurance Law.
Resources:
- De Rebus in 2019 (Sept) DR 29.
- Bargaining council and other benefit Schemes – Debbie Budlender & Shaheeda Sadeck