The relationship between workers and employers in South Africa is governed by various labour statutes such as the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA). The Basic Conditions of Employment Act regulates the working conditions of employees, including working hours, leave, particulars of employment and remuneration and termination of employment, etc. The purpose is to ensure that employees are not exploited and that they do not have to negotiate for these basic conditions of service. The BCEA does not prescribe the minimum remuneration that an employer must pay an employee, so the BCEA empowers the Minister of Labour to make sectoral determinations for sectors or areas of the economy that are typically in a weak bargaining position or not well organised by trade unions. Sectoral determinations are a means to protect vulnerable employees by fixing conditions of employment as well as minimum wages of employees that would otherwise have to be secured through collective bargaining. Employers and employees as well as their representatives are fully consulted during the process of making sectoral determinations. These consultations are held occasionally and the employers and employees can participate in the making of a sectoral determination that will regulate their employment relationship, either by making written submissions to the Department of Labour or by giving input at the public hearings that are usually held by the Department. The Minister is also advised in this regard by a body called Employment Conditions Commission (ECC), which is an independent statutory body established in terms of section 59(1) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. The Minister of Labour, after consultation with NEDLAC appoints the commissioners. The ECC’s mandate is a broad one, with its primary function being to advise the Minister of Labour on various matters concerning the BCEA. These include among others, the making of sectoral determinations, monitoring trends in collective bargaining for their possible impact on the BCEA. The issues highlighted above will be dealt with in detail in this paper.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:10244 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Sahula, Unathi |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Law |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, LLM |
| Format | iii, 78 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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