A resource providing workers with accurate advice on their pay and working conditions.
Produced by Casual Workers Advice Office (CWAO), this guide is a useful resource for shop stewards seeking information on who is covered by bargaining council agreements, sectoral determinations and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
Being able to tell which agreements, determinations or laws cover particular workers is important for several reasons:
- to establish the rights such workers have.
- to know the sectoral determination that covers such workers.
- to know where workers should go to resolve disputes with their employers.
Bargaining council agreements
Bargaining council agreements are negotiated between trade unions and employer organisations in bargaining councils, which are set up in terms of the Labour Relations Act. Bargaining council agreements set down minimum conditions of employment and minimum wages for workers in a particular sector, and are binding on all employers in that sector if the Minister of Labour and Employment extends the agreement to non-parties.
Sectoral determinations
Sectoral determinations are made by the Minister of Labour and Employment, and set minimum conditions of employment and wages for particular sectors of the economy. These determinations are made in terms of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA)
Workers who are not covered either by a bargaining council agreement or by a sectoral determination are covered by the BCEA. Workers who are covered by bargaining council agreements or sectoral determinations retain the protection of the BCEA where the agreements or determinations are silent on particular rights granted by the BCEA.
This resource was published by CWAO before the National Minimum Wage Act was implemented.
Republished with permission from Casual Workers Advice Office.
