Amended Labour Relations Act

(1)           The constitution of every bargaining council must at least provide for-
 

a)                  the appointment of representatives of the parties to the bargaining council, of whom half must be appointed by the trade unions that are party to the bargaining council and the other half by the employers' organisations that are party to the bargaining council, and the appointment of alternates to the representatives;

(b)          the representation of small and medium enterprises;

(c)           the circumstances and manner in which representatives must vacate their seats' and the procedure for replacing them;

(d)          rules for the convening and conducting of meetings of representatives, including the quorum required for, and the minutes to be kept of, those meetings;

(e)          the manner in which decisions are to be made; the appointment or election of office-bearers and officials, their functions, and the circumstances and manner in which they may be removed from office;

(f)            the establishment and functioning of committees;

(g)          the determination through arbitration of any dispute arising between the parties to the bargaining council about the interpretation or application of the bargaining council's constitution;

(h)          the procedure to be followed if a dispute arises between the parties to the bargaining council;

(i)            the procedure to be followed if a dispute arises between a registered trade union that is a party to the bargaining council, or its members, or both, on the one hand, and employers who belong to a registered employers' organisation that is a party to the bargaining council, on the other hand;

(j)            the procedure for exemption from collective agreements;

(k)          the banking and investment of its funds;

(l)            the purposes for which its funds may be used;

(m)        the delegation of its powers and functions;

(n)          the admission of additional registered trade unions and registered employers' organisations as parties to the bargaining council, subject to the provisions of section 56;⁷

(o)          a procedure for changing its constitution; and

(p)          a procedure by which it may resolve to wind up.

(2)           The requirements for the constitution of a bargaining council in subsection (1) apply to the constitution of a bargaining council in the public service except that-

(a)          any reference to an "employers' organisation" must be read as a reference to the State as employer; and

(b)          the requirement in subsection (1)(b) concerning the representation of small and medium enterprises does not apply.

(3)           The constitution of the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council must include a procedure for establishing a bargaining council in a sector of the public service designated in terms of section 37(l).

(4)           The constitution of a bargaining council in the public service may include provisions for the establishment and functioning of chambers of a bargaining council on national and regional levels.

(5)           The procedures for the resolution of disputes referred to in subsection (1)(h), (i) and (j) may not entrust dispute resolution functions to the Commission unless the governing body of the Commission has agreed thereto.

7.    Section 56 provides for a procedure for the admission of parties to a council.