All expressions used in this collective agreement which are defined in the Labour Relations Act, 1995, shall have the same meaning as in that Act, and unless the contrary intention appears, all words and expressions importing the masculine shall include the feminine gender, and those signifying the singular shall include the plural and vice versa; further unless inconsistent with the context—

"Administration Agreement"

means an agreement entered into between the Council and the Provident Fund or the Association or both in the rendering of administrative services

"Association"

means the Natal Furniture Workers' Mortality Benefit Association continued in terms of clause 15(1) of this collective agreement;

"Association Auditor"

means a public accountant as defined in the Labour Relations Act for the purpose of the Mortality Benefit Association;

"ancillary items"

means supplementary, supporting or additional to;

"benefit"

means an amount of money;

"casual employee"

means an employee who is employed by the same employer on not more than three days in any one week for the purpose of loading and /or off loading and /or storing raw materials of any kind;

"Committee" or "Management Committee"

for the purposes of the administration of Funds under the auspices of the Council, means the Committee appointed by the Council in accordance with the provisions of clause 4 of this collective agreement.

"contributions"

means the monies payable to the Fund in terms of clause 12 of this collective agreement and /or monies diverted to the Association in terms of clause 12(4).

"Council"

means the Bargaining Council for the Furniture Manufacturing Industry, KwaZulu-Natal;

"dependant"

means in relation to a member for the purposes of Mortality Benefit Association Fund as reflected in Chapter lll of this Agreement

"FSB"

means Financial Services Board;

"Fund"

means the Provident Fund for the Furniture Manufacturing Industry, KwaZulu-Natal, continued in terms of clause 10 of this collective agreement;

"Fund week"

means the period from midnight between Thursday and Friday to midnight between the following Thursday and Friday, or such other time as may be agreed upon by the Council;

"Furniture Manufacturing Industry"

means without in any way limiting the ordinary meaning of the expression, the manufacture of furniture either in whole or in part of all types of furniture irrespective of the materials used and shall include the following:

Assembling of all items and / or components of furniture, repairing, spraying, polishing, re-polishing, wood machining, veneering, woodturning, carving, painting, staining, wood bending and laminating, the making of and / or repairing of frames, loose covers and / or cushions. Furniture manufacturing shall also include hotel, tea room or restaurant furniture, office, church, school, bar and theatre furniture, cabinets for musical instruments and radio cabinets. The veneering, laminating, papering and / or wrap of all types of doors, large or small, including the manufacturing of all items or components, whether or not such items are intended to be free standing, built in and / or affixed to a building as listed in (i) to (vii) below:

The manufacture and / or processes involved in the manufacture of bedding, including all types of mattresses, spring mattresses, overlays, pillows, bolsters, spring units, bed spring mattresses and studio couches, which is designed for seating and / or conversion into a bed and of which the frame is constructed mainly of metal and the seating and / or sleeping surface consists of a mattress and / or cushion.

The upholstering and / or re-upholstering of all types of furniture, or item of furniture, bedding, pelmets and mattress bases.

The making, altering, repairing and / or fitting of curtains, rails, rods and pelmets.

The manufacturing of furniture made principally of wicker, cane and / or grass.

The manufacture in a factory, building and / or elsewhere in conjunction with items specified under (a) to (e) products of which wood constitutes the main component, which shall include plywood, veneer boards, chip board, laminated board, block board and / or any similar product for use in;

"LRA"

means the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act No. 66 of 1995);

"learner"

means an employee serving under a written contract of learnership entered into under the provisions of the Skills Development Act, 1998 (Act No. 97 of 1998).

"Main Collective Agreement"

means any current agreement for the Furniture Manufacturing Industry, KwaZulu-Natal, published in terms of section 32 of the Act, in which wages are prescribed, or in the absence of such an agreement, the last wage agreement published for the Industry in terms of the Act;

"member"

means an employee who has been admitted as a member of the Provident Fund and /or Association in terms of the Rules as registered with FSB and /or with clause 11 and clause 17 and the words "member" and "membership" shall have a corresponding meaning;

"normal wage"

means the wage based on an employee's earnings and payable had he worked 44 hours, excluding overtime, holiday pay and any bonus, during any one week.

"old age"

means the age of 65 years or over;

"pay-day"

means Friday in each week except where Friday is a non-working day, when the pay-day shall be the last working day preceding Friday or any day in respect of which exemption has been granted by the Council to permit it being a pay-day;

"PFA"

means the Pension Funds Act, (Act No. 24 of 1956);

"Provident Fund Auditor"

means a public accountant as defined in the Pension Funds Act for the purpose of the Provident Fund;

"retirement"

means permanent retirement from the Industry through incapacity, ill-health or old age, and "retire" has a corresponding meaning;

"rules"

means the rules of the Provident Fund as registered in terms of the Pension Funds Act, No. 24 of 1956, or the Mortality Benefit Association made by the Council in terms of Chapter III of this Agreement;

"Secretary"

means the Secretary appointed in terms of clause 4 hereof;

"trustee(s)"

means the trustee(s) appointed or elected in terms of the Rules of the Provident Fund, or clause 23 of this collective agreement relating to the Mortality Benefit Association, whichever applies;