Labour Relations Amendment Act

This section amends the Labour Relations Act so agency shop agreements can require employers to deduct an agreed agency fee from certain employees’ wages.

A bargaining council may be established for more than one sector.

This provision changes the wording in section 29 of the principal Act from “30-dae tydperk” to “30-daetydperk” in the Afrikaans text.

This section amends section 30 of the principal Act. It requires every bargaining council’s constitution to provide for certain matters, and it says dispute-resolution procedures for specified disputes may not give those functions to the Commission unless the Commission’s governing body agrees.

A collective agreement made in a bargaining council is binding on the listed parties and, in some cases, their members.

This section amends the rules for extending collective agreements by changing the representativeness and Minister-satisfaction requirements, and it creates special rules for certain public service bargaining councils.

A bargaining council must be established for a sector designated by the President, and Schedule 1 item 3(4) to (10) will apply.

The dispute resolution committee must resolve certain jurisdictional disputes, and parties may refer disputes to it in writing; the referring party must also show that all other parties received a copy.

A council may delegate its powers and functions to a committee, subject to conditions imposed by the council under its constitution.

The registrar may vary a council’s registered scope if the council’s representative sector and area do not match that scope.

Certain interested labour parties may apply to the Commission for a determination, and an arbitrator must stop and refer a qualifying question to the Commission.

This section amends section 63(1) of the principal Act by replacing paragraph (a) so that it refers to a dispute that has arisen in arbitration proceedings or proceedings in the Labour Court.

This provision amends section 64(2) of the principal Act by deleting the word “and” at the end of paragraph (b).

This provision changes the definition of “secondary strike” in section 66.

A picket authorised under subsection (1) may be held, even if other laws regulate the right of assembly.

This section amends section 74(7) of the principal Act by deleting a word and replacing paragraph (b) with new wording about when the period runs.

An employer may ask the essential services committee, in writing and only if there is no collective agreement on maintenance services, to decide whether all or part of the business is a maintenance service. The committee must decide as soon as possible and may, in some cases, send related disputes to arbitration.

This section amends section 78(a) of the principal Act by deleting subparagraph (i), and it also introduces an amendment to section 80 of Act 66 of 1995.

This section amends section 80(8) of the principal Act by deleting the word "remaining".

The amendment changes workplace forum rules on full-time members, expert attendance, access to information and documents, and decision-making procedures.

This section amends section 87 and says the required review of disciplinary codes, procedures, and rules must follow section 86(2) to (7), with one exception for disputes under section 86(4).

An employer with multiple workplaces may give written notice to all workplace forum chairpersons, which prevents other workplace forums from referring the same matter to arbitration.

An employer must notify the workplace forum in writing if it considers information disclosed under subsection (1) to be confidential.

This provision amends section 94(1) of the principal Act by adding paragraph (aA): “a workplace forum.”

This provision amends section 103(3) of the principal Act by inserting the word “an” between “granting” and “order”.

This provision amends section 115 of the principal Act by removing certain paragraphs and replacing one paragraph with text about preventing sexual harassment in the workplace.

This section amends the principal Act so the Commission may contract with people to do work, or with an accredited agency to carry out Commission functions on its behalf.

An accredited council or accredited agency may charge a fee when performing functions for which it is accredited, but only in circumstances where section 140(2) allows the Commission or a commissioner to charge a fee.

Some agencies may apply to the governing body for a subsidy to help with dispute resolution work and training.

This section amends section 137(4) so that, if an application is refused, the initially appointed commissioner must be confirmed, subject to section 136(4).

This section amends section 138(10) of the principal Act by adding the word "or" at the end of paragraph (a).

This section amends section 141(6) of the principal Act by replacing the expression "(I)(a)" with "(!)".

This section amends section 142(1)(f) to add a power to take a statement from a willing person on the premises about matters relevant to resolving the dispute.

The Commission may redirect disputes to private dispute resolution or appoint a commissioner, and may step in to perform a council’s or accredited agency’s dispute-resolution functions if they fail to do so when legally required.

The Minister of Justice may appoint one or more qualified persons to act as judges of the Labour Court, after consulting the Judge President.

This section changes how certain Labour Court judges are paid and allows a judge to keep acting after appointment expires for limited cases.

This amendment changes section 158(1)(e) so it covers certain disputes involving a registered trade union or registered employers' organisation and a member or membership applicant.

The section changes how Board members are paid and lets the Labour Court manage interim matters until Board rules are published.

This provision amends section 168(1)(c) so that the Labour Appeal Court may have such number of other Supreme Court judges as is required for its effective functioning.

The President must appoint three Labour Appeal Court judges, after the specified advice and consultations.

The Minister of Justice may appoint one or more Supreme Court judges to act as judges of the Labour Appeal Court, after consulting the Judge President of that court.

A person whose Labour Appeal Court appointment has expired may keep acting as a judge only to finish pending or reopened proceedings they already took part in, and only while needed for that purpose.

This section sets the maximum fine for a conviction under section 201 at R10 000 and lets the Minister change that maximum by Gazette notice. It also gives the Minister powers to amend schedules, page headers, footnotes, and a further schedule for listed institutions, subject to stated consultations.

The Minister may delegate powers, functions, or duties in writing to the Director General or another Department of Labour officer, except for specified excluded sections.

This section amends Section 213 by deleting the symbols “(d)”, “(e)”, and “(f)” before the definitions of “director”, “dispute”, and “employee”.

This Act starts when the President sets the commencement date by proclamation in the Government Gazette, unless another commencement rule is stated elsewhere. The amended schedule also requires a certificate of registration to specify the council’s registered scope.

Certain pension funds are exempt from this Act, but must still provide statistical information to the registrar when the Minister requests it.

This provision amends earlier labour and medical-scheme legislation and related schedules.

This provision changes the heading of item 3 in Schedule 8 to read “Disciplinary measures short of dismissal.”

This section says the Act is called the Labour Relations Amendment Act, 1996, and starts when the President sets a commencement date by proclamation in the Gazette.