A national bargaining council for the civil engineering industry has officially been launched following its first annual general meeting last week, the South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors (Safcec) announced on Monday.
The National Bargaining Council for the Civil Engineering Industry (BCCEI) is tasked with negotiating minimum wages, social benefits, and conditions of employment, solving labour disputes and developing proposals on labour laws and policies.
Safcec, the National Union of Mineworkers and the Building Construction and Allied Workers Union would be responsible for the development and operation of the council, which was expected to represent in excess of 175 000 employees in the future.
The first “substantive negotiations” for the industry were expected to start in July, after the process and clarification meetings, due to start shortly, concluded.
Safcec applied to the Department of Labour in 2011 to establish BCCEI, in a bid to improve and standardise conditions of employment and create stability within the industry.