Amended Labour Relations Act

(1)           A bargaining council may ask the Minister in writing to extend a collective agreement concluded in the bargaining council to any non-parties to the collective agreement that are within its registered scope and are identified in the request, if at a meeting of the bargaining council -

(a)          one or more registered trade unions whose members constitute the majority of the members of the trade unions that are party to the bargaining council vote in favour of the extension; and

(b)          one or more registered employers' organisations, whose members employ the majority of the employees employed by the members of the employers' organisations that are party to the bargaining council, vote in favour of the extension.

(2)           Within 60 days of receiving the request, the Minister must extend the collective agreement, as requested, by publishing a notice in the Government Gazette declaring that, from a specified date and for a specified period, the collective agreement will be binding on the non-parties specified in the notice.

(3)           A collective agreement may not be extended in terms of subsection (2) unless the Minister is satisfied that-

(a)          the decision by the bargaining council to request the extension of the collective agreement complies with the provisions of subsection (1);

(b)          the majority of all the employees who, upon extension of the collective agreement, will fall within the scope of the agreement, are members of the trade unions that are parties to the bargaining council;

(c)           the members of the employers' organisations that are parties to the bargaining council will, upon the extension of the collective agreement, be found to employ the majority of all the employees who fall within the scope of the collective agreement;

(d)          the non-parties specified in the request fall within the bargaining council's registered scope;

(e)          provision is made in the collective agreement for an independent body to hear and decide, as soon as possible, any appeal brought against -

(i)             the bargaining council’s refusal of a non-party’s application for exemption from the provisions of the collective agreement;

(ii)           the withdrawal of such an exemption by the bargaining council;

(f)            the collective agreement contains criteria that must be applied by the independent body when it considers an appeal, and that those criteria are fair and promote the primary objects of this Act; and

(g)          the terms of the collective agreement do not discriminate against non-parties.

(1)           [Deleted]

(2)           Despite subsection (3)(b) and (c), the Minister may extend a collective agreement in terms of subsection (2) if –

(a)          the parties to the bargaining council are sufficiently representative within the registered scope of the bargaining council; and

(b)          the Minister is satisfied that failure to extend the agreement may undermine collective bargaining at sectoral level or in the public service as a whole.

(6)           (a)     After a notice has been published in terms of subsection (2), the Minister, at the request of the bargaining council, may publish a further notice in the Government Gazette

(i)             extending the period specified in the earlier notice by a further period determined by the Minister; or

(ii)           if the period specified in the earlier notice has expired, declaring a new date from which, and a further period during which, the provisions of the earlier notice will be effective.

(b)          The provisions of subsections (3) and (5), read with the changes required by the context, apply in respect of the publication of any notice in terms of this subsection.

(7)           The Minister, at the request of the bargaining council, must publish a notice in the Government Gazette cancelling all or part of any notice published in terms of subsection (2) or (6) from a date specified in the notice.

(8)           Whenever any collective agreement in respect of which a notice has been published in terms of subsection (2) or (6) is amended, amplified or replaced by a new collective agreement, the provisions of this section apply to that new collective agreement.

(9)           For the purposes of extending collective agreements concluded in the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council or any bargaining council contemplated in section 37(3) or (4)-

(a)          any reference in this section to an employers’ organisation must be read as a reference to the State as employer; and

(b)          subsections (3)(c), (e) and (f) and (4) of this section will not apply.

(10)       If the parties to a collective agreement that has been extended in terms of this section terminate the agreement, they must notify the Minister in writing.