Labour Relations Amendment Act

A party to an indefinite collective agreement may end it by giving reasonable written notice to the other parties, unless the agreement says otherwise.

Section 24 is amended so collective agreements must include a dispute-resolution procedure, starting with conciliation and then arbitration if needed; parties may also refer certain settlement-agreement disputes to a council or the Commission.

This section amends section 28 of the principal Act by removing a word and adding new paragraphs about industrial support services and extending services and functions to workers in the informal sector and home workers.

The registrar must publish a notice of the application in the Government Gazette, send a copy to NEDLAC, and the public has 30 days to object.

This section changes the rules for extending bargaining council agreements and requires notice to the Minister if an extended agreement is terminated.

The Minister may appoint a bargaining council’s designated agent at the council’s request, and that agent may help enforce collective agreements and use the powers listed in Schedule 10 within the council’s registered scope.

Bargaining councils may monitor and enforce collective agreements, and arbitrators may issue orders, fines, and other awards for compliance disputes.

A designated bargaining council must be established under the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council’s constitution, and if the parties cannot agree on a constitution the Registrar must तयermine it.

In a public service jurisdictional dispute between bargaining councils, a party may refer the dispute in writing to the Commission, must prove the referral was served on all other councils, and the Commission must try to resolve it by conciliation; if it stays unresolved, a party may ask for arbitration.

A non-representative statutory council may submit certain collective agreements to the Minister, who must treat them as an Employment Conditions Commission recommendation.

A bargaining council must report employee numbers to the registrar annually and, if asked, within the time the registrar sets.

A council may not include in a collective agreement a referral of disputes to the Commission without first consulting the director; a bargaining council may set dispute-resolution procedures by collective agreement.

A council must comply with subsections (1) to (5) for all funds it establishes, except funds covered by section 28(3).

Councils must file an annual prescribed report to the registrar, and the registrar may take compliance and investigative steps if a council fails to comply.

If no material objection is lodged within the stipulated period, the registrar may vary the council’s registered scope, issue a certificate reflecting the varied scope, and does not have to follow the procedure in section 29.

The registrar must cancel a bargaining council’s registration when a qualifying resolution is received, and some existing subsections do not apply to bargaining councils in the public service.

The amended paragraph allows compensation to be ordered for loss caused by a strike, lock-out, or related conduct, based on listed fairness factors.

The registrar must not register a trade union or employers’ organisation unless satisfied the applicant is genuine. The Minister may publish Gazette guidelines for the registrar to use when making that determination.

This section amends winding-up rules for registered trade unions and employers’ organisations.

Section 105’s heading is replaced so it now refers to a declaration that a trade union is no longer independent.

The Labour Court registrar must notify the labour relations registrar when a court orders winding up or finds a registered trade union not independent. The registrar may also cancel registration of a trade union or employers’ organisation if the stated conditions are met, but only after the required Government Gazette notice.

The Commission may make rules about conciliation and arbitration procedures, and those rules must be published in the Government Gazette before they have legal force.

The governing body must publish a list of accredited councils and accredited agencies every year.

Accredited councils and accredited agencies may charge fees in the same situations this Act allows a commissioner to charge a fee. An accredited council and an accredited private agency may also give a dispute-resolving appointee the powers of a commissioner, subject to the section text.

If a dispute is still unresolved after conciliation, the Commission must arbitrate it when the stated conditions are met.

This section amends section 135 of the principal Act by deleting subsection (4).

This section amends section 138 by deleting subsection (4) and replacing subsection (10) so the commissioner may order payment of costs, subject to law, fairness, and relevant rules and guidance.

Section 140(1) of the principal Act is deleted.

If a dispute stays unresolved after conciliation, the Commission must arbitrate it when the listed conditions are met.

This provision changes witness-fee and contempt procedures for Commission subpoenas and Labour Court review.

The Commission may turn certain settlement agreements into arbitration awards when the dispute has been referred to it.

An arbitration award is final and binding and may be enforced like a Labour Court order, except advisory arbitration awards.

This section substitutes a new section 144 dealing with variation and rescision of arbitration awards and rulings.

A commissioner who issued an arbitration award or ruling, or another commissioner appointed by the director, may vary or rescind it in certain cases.

The Labour Court may allow a late application if good cause is shown.

The Commission may appoint or offer to appoint a commissioner to help resolve certain referred disputes through further conciliation.

This section amends Labour Court powers over arbitration awards, settlement agreements, and review of functions under the Act.

This section amends an existing paragraph by replacing it with wording that refers to a designated agent or official of a council.

This section amends the principal Act by deleting subsection (3) of section 173 and changing the heading to Chapter VI11 of Act 66 of 1995.

The section substitutes a new heading for Chapter VI11 of the principal Act.

This section replaces section 185 of the principal Act with a section titled “Right not to be unfairly dismissed or subjected to unfair labour practice.”

Every employee has the right not to be unfairly dismissed or subjected to unfair labour practice.

Section 186 is amended to expand the meaning of dismissal and unfair labour practice.

This section amends section 187 of the principal Act by adding paragraphs that refer to certain transfers and employer contraventions linked to protected disclosures.

An employer may request pre-dismissal arbitration with employee consent, and the request must be in the prescribed form.

An employer planning operational-requirements dismissals must consult the required parties, share relevant information in writing, allow representations, respond to them, and use agreed or fair and objective selection criteria.

This section sets extra rules for large employers planning operational-requirement dismissals, including notice, facilitation, strike/lock-out timing, and Labour Court procedures.

This section changes how employees may refer dismissal and unfair labour practice disputes, sets referral deadlines, allows late referrals for good cause, and gives the council/Commission and director powers about arbitration and Labour Court referrals.

An arbitrator may decide unfair labour practice disputes and may order reinstatement, re-employment, or compensation.

Compensation for certain unfair dismissal and unfair labour practice cases must be just and equitable, and cannot exceed 12 months’ remuneration.

When a business is transferred, the new employer generally takes over the existing employment contracts and continuity of employment is preserved.

When a business is transferred during insolvency-related circumstances, the new employer takes over the employment contracts, and employers must notify consulting parties about insolvency-related winding-up or sequestration matters.

This section presumes a person who works for or provides services to another person is an employee if certain factors are present, unless they earn above the Minister’s threshold.

A Code of Good Practice issued under this section may say that it must be considered when applying or interpreting employment law.

This section amends section 204 so that, unless a collective agreement, arbitration award, or determination says otherwise, every bound employer must comply with the inserted rule, but the excerpt cuts off before the full duty is shown.

This section amends several definitions in the principal Act, including “Basic Conditions of Employment Act,” “employment law,” “public service,” “registered scope,” and “workplace.”

This provision amends Schedule 7 to the principal Act by deleting items 2, 3 and 4 and adding a new Part H on transitional provisions.

This section defines “Act” and “Amendment Act.” It also says that, until Commission rules come into force, certain Labour Relations Act sections stay in force, bargaining councils may be represented in arbitration by specified persons, and representation rights in section 191 proceedings are determined by listed sections.

This provision keeps section 138(10) in force, as if unamended, until the Commission’s rules under section 115(2A)(j) take effect.

Some bargaining councils are treated as having been established under section 37(2).

The Labour Court cannot grant certain orders unless the applicant gives at least 4 days’ notice to the respondent; the Court may allow shorter notice if stated conditions are met, and related applications must be enrolled on an expedited basis.

An employer may place a newly hired employee on probation before confirming the appointment, but must use probation for its intended purpose and follow fairness steps before extending or ending probation.

The Schedule gives designated agents powers to inspect workplaces and related records to monitor compliance with collective agreements, and it requires employers, employees, and questioned persons to cooperate in specified ways.