BCCEI general secretary Nick Faasen
The Bargaining Council for the Civil Engineering Industry (BCCEI) has set the end of February as the deadline for all employer organisations, representative trade unions and nonmembers to submit their wage proposals for the 2015 wage negotiation process.
BCCEI general secretary Nick Faasen would embark on a countrywide roadshow in January and February to meet with stakeholders.
A pre-bargaining conference between employer organisations and trade unions would also be held at the end of January.
All parties had to submit their wage proposals or demands to the council by no later than the end of February.
“Parties must also be cognisant of the fact that not all proposals submitted will necessarily fly, as a lot of things will fall off the table during this process,” noted Faasen.
The council would hold its annual general meeting, where all parties would table their negotiating teams, in March. Depending on the schedule agreed upon, Faasen would then arrange meetings between all the parties.
A final agreement would likely be submitted to Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant by June, whereafter the Minister would have 60 days to consider, approve and promulgate the agreement. A further 21 days would be set aside to allow for the submission of public comment on the agreement.
“We are in the process of recruiting an experienced facilitator in this regard. I will oversee the negotiations process right up to the point where the final tabled agreement is submitted to the Minister. I need to stress that I remain entirely impartial and do not become involved in the negotiations at all,” he added.
Faasen was confident that the 2015 wage negotiation process would go smoothly. “We have an unprecedented opportunity to showcase what a duly representative, fully functional and passionately dedicated bargaining council can do to effect massive change in its industry.”