Back to: Introduction to the Labour Relations Act (LRA)
3.3 Bargaining Councils
Bargaining councils play a crucial role in the collective bargaining process. A bargaining council is established by one or more registered trade unions and one or more registered employers’ organisations to represent their interests in a specific sector and area.
The powers and functions of a bargaining council include concluding collective agreements, preventing and resolving labour disputes, and performing dispute resolution functions. Bargaining councils also establish and administer funds for resolving disputes, promoting training and education schemes, and establishing pension, provident, medical aid, and other similar schemes or funds for the benefit of their members.
To establish a bargaining council, the parties must adopt a constitution that meets the requirements of the Labour Relations Act and obtain registration from the registrar. The constitution must provide for the appointment of representatives, the convening and conducting of meetings, decision-making processes, and procedures for resolving disputes among other provisions.
Once established, a bargaining council can request the Minister to extend a collective agreement concluded in the council to non-parties within its registered scope. The Minister must extend the agreement if certain conditions are met, such as the majority of employees who will fall within the scope of the agreement being members of the trade unions that are parties to the bargaining council.
Bargaining councils thus serve as important institutions for facilitating collective bargaining and ensuring that agreements are applied consistently across a sector.