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Thread: Bargaining council nightmare

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    Bargaining council nightmare

    Hi all,

    I am a small electrical contractor who is battling with the bargaining council.

    First question is it compulsory to join?

    and if so which one do I join?

    They are in the process of registering me with MEIBC
    I don't feel this is correct?

    And the big thing is the minimum wage requirements.
    R28/h minimum for anyone ie (the guy sweeping my floors.)
    Thats R4480pm

    If this is all true my doors will be closed by June.

    could anyone please offer some insight or experiences?

    Thanks in advance

    thanks matman

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    Hi, Bargaining councils are compulsory if you fall in their area you will have to register and follow rules!

    Which council you register with depends on your type of business and area (in your case electrical contracting)

    I am sure other members here in the electrical contracting industry will be able to shed more light on your situation.

    What I would do as a start is to get a copy of their latest guide\rules that have been approved by the department of labour!

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matman View Post
    First question is it compulsory to join?
    If your scope of activity falls within the scope of the bargaining council, and the agreements have been extended to non-parties by the Minister of Labour, then yes.
    If the agreements have not been extended to non-parties, the answer gets a bit more complicated.

    Quote Originally Posted by Matman View Post
    and if so which one do I join?

    They are in the process of registering me with MEIBC
    Now that absolutely fascinates me.
    You say you're an electrical contractor, but what exactly is the scope of your activities?

    Ordinarily electrical contractors fall under the scope of the NBCEI.

    Quote Originally Posted by Matman View Post
    And the big thing is the minimum wage requirements.
    R28/h minimum for anyone ie (the guy sweeping my floors.)
    Thats R4480pm
    I compared some of the minimum pay rates between the two (general worker/minimum paid worker and the driver rates in particular), and it looks like the employer is better off with the NBCEI pay rates by quite some margin. Of course that's not the whole story - you also need to compare company contribution levels for council fees, pension funding etc. as well as well as rates for more skilled staff too to get an overall picture, but the gap between the two is pretty big already just looking at the minimum pay rates.

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    I agree Dave.

    Port Elizabeth falls in are "F" in the NBCEI's scope of application, here is that part of the Main Agreement

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    The section in the NBCEI's main collective agreement that's food for thought is the definition of the "Electrical Industry" for the purposes of the NBCEI agreements, which excludes the Iron, Steel, Engineering and Metallurgical Industry in many regions (including PE). There's also a defintion as to what constitutes the Iron, Steel, Engineering and Metallurgical Industry in the collective agreement (starts at the bottom of page 18 in the document Clive linked to).

    The effect is the MEIBC has priority if the electrical contractor's activities fall within the scope of that definition.

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    Call yourself a handy man and dont tell them you do electrical work, or do what i did and registered my bussiness as a power quality and thermal imaging specialist, which inlcudes all sorts of services , not to be mentioned on a public forum. I am a registered master electrican, so i just register with the department of labour, so that i can sign off jobs if i need to. Now with my labour broking CC it is gona put a whole new spin on things. It is going to get interesting. If you are a small concern dont make waves and nobody will notice you. I operated for 10 years as a pirate contractor, nobody took any notice of me, unfortunately, my bussiness has expanded into the more industrial side making it a little more complicated, especially when you have to do all the KBC heath and safety training to get into places like RBM, but even that there are ways around everything.

    Or just pay up and become part of the 60-70% of the bussiness failures in SA, i stand to be corrected but it could be even higher.

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    Yes, the percentage of businesses that fail due to the MEIBC is very high up, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's indeed as lofty as 70%. I've been in the business for 20 years now. 15 of which I managed to fly below the radar. Since the MEIBC 'found' me things have become a nightmare.
    I had guy working for me for a little over two years. I followed all the labour rules, paid him well as I do all my staff. After about 18 months, I noticed the theft of tooling and aluminiums (what we specialize in). Then I caught him stealing as well as falsifying sick notes. I got an affidavit from the respective Dr, went through the disciplinary protocols and had a hearing. In the middle of the hearing he got up and walked out.
    He wasn't seen again for two years. Two years later I got a nasty fax from the MEIBC to attend hearing for an unfair dismissal case against this guy. What he did, first try the CCMA to try to nail me because he needed money; The CCMA through him out of the door due to his baseless case. He then went to the MEIBC who took his case.
    In the hearing, he presented his original letter of employment from a little over four years back. He was given the right to speak his mind and lied through his teeth. I walked into that hearing with all the legal evidence and history to what actually transpired along with the labour attorneys' documentation pertaining to his theft, fraud and dismissal along with the fact that he walked out mid hearing at the time. My evidence also consisted of factual affidavits from all my other employees stating that this guy was no longer employed by me and wasn't seen since his dismissal hearing more than two years back.
    When it came to my turn to prove my innocence, Judge Koorts placed his hand on my file and said that he was not interested in my evidence, and I was subsequently found guilty and financially raped. Excuse the analogy but that's how I see it.

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    People wonder why the unemployment rate is so high, I could expand my operation a few levels, but it would involve employing people, no thanks been there done that.

    What I am looking for a BBEEE person to start his own company so I can pass on work, but not have to employ...ie build my product then sell it to the BBEEE company for them to put the finishing touches, sand paint et. That way I don't have to employ anyone and when there is no work, I don't need to pay anyone, I don't get taxed to death and have all the extra costs like bargaining councils, training fees, etc ,etc,etc,etc,etc the list is long I am sure you get the idea.

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