(Please contact the BCRCAT agents or offices to collect the agreements at a fee and get an explanation to see if you are covered as a small employer or employee)

The parties to the BCRCAT are bound by collective agreements. Once a collective agreement has been concluded, parties to the BCRCAT may apply to the Minister of Labour, in terms of section 32, to extend the agreement to non-parties (to employees and employers who work in the sector covered by BCRCAT but who are not parties to the BCRCAT.

Once an agreement has been extended to cover non-parties, all business and employees falling within the registered scope of the BCRCAT (geographic and sectors section), are bound by the provisions of the collective agreement. An employer who is not a party to the BCRCAT, but is covered by the provisions of the BCRCAT, may apply for exemption from the provisions of the collective agreement.

Small employers maybe exempted from the ambits of the bargaining council agreement particularly on wages up to a maximum of 10% of the prescribed wage rate. The collective agreement defines who a small employer is.

Currently the BCRCAT has the following Collective Agreement with Authority number 10987 as amended and as gazzeted in these gazettes. Gazettes numbers:

• 10987 of the 8th of June 2008 (Main Agreement) with the following amendments:

•  22071 of the 23rd February 2001

•  233355 of the 26th April 2002

•  24329 of the 7th February 2003

•  27947 of the 2 nd September 2005

•  31323 of the 15th August 2008

Enforcement of Collective Agreements

Please note that the BCRCAT has powers to enforce compliance of its agreements as contemplated by section 33A of the LRA. The BCRCAT has designated agents who are expected by LRA and the collective agreement to monitor and enforce compliance. The Statutory Department also advise both employers and employees in dealing with complicated labour related issues such as diciplinary actions, grievance procedures and retrenchments.

The Collective Agreement is available from the offices of the BCRCAT at a fee. It is Government Gazette Number 34671 of the 14th of October 2011.

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