"You can't play a symphony alone, it takes an orchestra to play it." This quote by Navjot Singh Sidhu perfectly encapsulates the essence of a recent arbitration award that has significant implications for employer representation in South Africa's civil engineering sector. Just as every musician, regardless of the size of their instrument, deserves to be heard in an orchestra, every employer, regardless of their size, deserves representation in the bargaining council.
The arbitration, held on 5 and 20 June 2024, addressed two critical issues:
- Whether the Consolidated Employers Organisation (CEO) could represent all sizes of employers, including larger ones, within the Bargaining Council for the Civil Engineering Industry.
- How seats in the bargaining council should be allocated among employers' organisations based on the number of employees they represent.
Central to the arbitration was the principle of freedom of association and the right to engage in collective bargaining. These rights are enshrined in South African labour law, ensuring that both employers and employees can freely choose their representatives in collective bargaining processes, providing that they operate within its constitution.
Any restriction on the CEO's ability to represent its members would fundamentally limit these rights. Larger employers who are legitimate members of the CEO must be allowed representation in the bargaining council to ensure their interests and concerns are effectively advocated.
The arbitration findings highlighted several key points:
- There was no explicit restriction in any provided documentation that limited the CEO to representing only small and medium-sized employers. This lack of restriction was crucial.
- Historical documents and constitutions from both the CEO and the bargaining council did not support limiting representation to smaller employers. The CEO's constitution allowed for the representation of larger employers, and the bargaining council's constitution did not envisage such a restriction.
- The right to freedom of association ensures that all employers, regardless of size, can be represented by the CEO in the bargaining council.
The arbitration award had several important outcomes:
- The CEO is permitted to represent all its members in the Bargaining Council for the Civil Engineering Industry, provided they fall within the council's registered scope. This includes larger employers, broadening the CEO's representative capacity.
- The bargaining council can include the employee numbers of large employer members when conducting verification of stakeholder membership numbers. This ensures a fair and accurate allocation of seats within the council.
This landmark arbitration award reinforces the principles of freedom of association and collective bargaining, ensuring that the CEO can effectively represent all its members in the bargaining council. By broadening the scope of representation, this decision ensures that every employer's voice, no matter the size, can be heard, creating a more inclusive and equitable framework for labour relations in South Africa's civil engineering sector. Just as it takes an orchestra to play a symphony, it takes the representation of all employers to create harmony in the industry.
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