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Background
Before
the establishment of the Interim SALGBC (as it was known before
registration) parts of the local government sector were under the
jurisdiction of various Provincial Industrial Councils (later called
Bargaining Councils). The result was that there was no national
uniformity in the way that employers and unions addressed labour matters. Instead, conditions of service and
standards of pay differed from province to province.
Funding
The long
delay between establishing and registering the SALGBC (almost four years)
resulted in major financial difficulties as the parties had to bear the
costs of their delegates' attendance. This expenditure was not budgeted
for because it was expected that the SALGBC would be registered in a few
months and would then be able to fund these costs by imposing a levy.
On
registration in March 2001 it imposed a levy of R2,50
per month, payable by each employee, and a further R2,50 per month per
employee payable by the municipalities back dated to 1 July 1999. The
SALGBC thus received R5,00 per month for every
municipal employee in South
Africa.
1 July 2004 this levy was increased to R2,70 per month, payable by each employee, and a further
R2,70 per month per employee payable by the municipalities. A total of about R1 188 000 per month
for the country's 220 000 municipal employees. These levies are used to
finance the salaries of SALGBC personnel, their and delegates'
subsistence and travel expenses, catering and other regular expenses such
as legal costs (dispute resolution, stationary, telephone, etc.)
The
SALGBC and its structures
The
Interim SALGBC got off to a shaky start because the provincial Bargaining
Councils had to accept that their powers were being centralised.
The Interim
SALGBC had a Central Council and thirteen divisions: one division for
each of the nine provinces and another one for each of the metropolitan
areas as recognised in 1997 (Johannesburg,
Cape Town, Pretoria
and Durban).
The two
'new' metropolitan municipalities (Nelson Mandela Metropolitan and Ekurhuleni) do not yet have separate divisions. They
would have to apply for this status at the SALGBC. Before 5 December
2000, metro divisions had numerous municipalities within their
jurisdictions. Since 5 December 2000 metro divisions have a single
municipality as the employer party.
Because
it was not yet registered as a Bargaining Council in terms of the Labour Relations Act, the Interim SALGBC could not
impose levies on employers and employees to finance the Council. The
parties to the Interim SALGBC then agreed that, before registration, they
would pay their own travel costs as well as the accommodation costs of
their delegates. These costs would be claimed back from the SALGBC after
registration. As the Interim SALGBC had no funds to appoint permanent
personnel, it was agreed that some municipalities would second some of
their employees to the divisions. The present General Secretary of IMATU,
Theo Crouse, volunteered initially to act as the General Secretary of the
Central Council.
Collective
Bargaining previously took place in the various Provincial Bargaining
Councils. Therefore, the leadership of the various parties was not very
well acquainted with Central Bargaining. Apart from the annual salary and
wage agreements between 1997 and 2001, very few other collective
agreements were entered into during this period.
Despite
a lack of finances and permanent personnel, the SALGBC managed to survive
due to a shared vision that a single National Bargaining Council was an
absolute necessity.
Central
Council
The
SALGBC has a Central Council which acts as its
plenary. Its 60 seats are shared equally between SALGA and labour. It has the power to approve, among other
things, the budget and the audited financial statements.
Executive
Committee
Initially
the SALGBC functioned without an Executive Committee. This meant that a
Central Council meeting had to be convened every six weeks to deal with
the normal day-to-day issues of the Council. The SALGBC's
Constitution has been amended to provide for an Executive Committee with
specific delegated powers. This amendment has not been registered yet by
the Department of Labour. However, in
anticipation of the registration, the Executive Committee is already up
and running and consists of five representatives each from SALGA and from
Labour.
Bargaining
Committee
A
Negotiating Committee has also been formed, with ten representatives each
from SALGA and Labour. Its primary function is
to collectively bargain salary and wage increases, uniform conditions of
service, etc. This was previously done by the Central Council, which
proved difficult because of the large number of delegates.
Working
Groups
The
Executive Committee also formed various advisory working groups and
committees:
- The Employee Benefits
Working Group deals with pension and retirement funds,
medical aid schemes, conditions of service, etc.
- The Municipal Services
Working Group deals with municipal services. Much of this
group's deliberations is on restructuring
the electricity services, water and refuse removal.
- The Occupational Health,
Safety and Environment Working Group deals with issues
arising from legislation on health, safety and environmental
matters.
- The National Moderation
Commission has to
modify and implement the new TASK Job Evaluation System. This is a
single job evaluation system for the local government sector in South Africa.
This process has now reached an advanced stage and the training of
the Principal Job Evaluation Manager have already commenced.
- The Finance Committee and
Human Resources Committee advises the Executive Committee on
financial and human resources matters.
- The Technical Advisory
Committee has two SALGA delegates and one delegate each from
IMATU and SAMWU. These delegates are officials, whereas the working
groups consist of politicians and officials of each party. The TAC
advises the Executive Committee on the legal implications of
constitutional amendments to legislation and general legal or
technical matters. It has no decision-making powers.
Powers
and functions
In terms
of the SALGBC's constitution certain powers are
reserved for the Central Council. The Central Council may delegate any
matter to a division of the SALGBC for finalisation.
Importantly, the constitution does not allow delegation to a
municipality. Therefore, a municipality cannot, for instance, negotiate
at a local level about core conditions of service.
Because
of the drive towards centralising powers, uniformity
and collective bargaining, the Central Council rarely delegated any of
its powers to a particular division for finalisation.
It has now been acknowledged that this is not ideal; certain levels of
bargaining should be agreed on which may include bargaining at a local
level, such as the Local Labour Forum of a
municipality. A particular matter in a specific region or at a specific
municipality could be dealt with by the relevant local parties, who are
more familiar with the particular circumstances.
The SALGBC's constitution requires a two-thirds
concurrent majority from SALGA and Labour in
order to adopt any resolution of the Council. This means that any party
to the SALGBC can veto a resolution. In terms of a proposed amendment to
the constitution, which is currently with the Registrar of Labour, the parties will only req
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