Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act No. 66 of 1995)

Notices

National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight and Logistics Industry (NBCRFLI)

Main Collective Agreement

Schedules

Schedule 2 : Definitions

Purchase

Key terms

Unless inconsistent with the context, any word or term used in the Main Agreement which is defined in the Labour Relations Act, 66 of 1995, has the same meaning as in that Act, and –

"Act"

means the Labour Relations Act, 66 of 1995;

"Basic Rigger Driver"

means a driver who is responsible for basic rigging, lifting, and landing of loads or machines on-site or from one location to another. Also drive a truck-mounted crane.

Specifically, the responsibilities include:

•	Report to operations/ management and is issued a job card with the job requirements for the day or weeks.

•	Report to the job or client site with a safety file with all the safety documentation and certification required.

•	Check the site for safety parameters by following occupational health and standards (safety toolbox talk).

•	Together with the crew, discuss the job requirements for lifting and moving the load.

•	Ensure ongoing communication with the client and operations.

•	Assess the load type, size and weight, centre of gravity, sling angles and slinging capabilities, including checking where to handle safely, and attach slings to lift the load.

•	Decide on the relevant tools (e.g., Ropes, slings, and other equipment) to secure, lift and move the load.

•	Install lifting equipment to raise the "load" off the ground using pulleys/slings/ wheels/jacks.

•	Make use forklifts and cranes to lift and move the load.

•	Obtain sign off job card or timesheet from the client site manager.

•	Oversee and supervise the crew in carrying out the work and ensure ongoing training.

•	Inform operations/ management of any deviation from the original scope of work.

[Definition inserted by Notice No. R.3727 of GG49029, dated 28 July 2023]

"compressed working week"

means a compressed working week referred to in clause 8;

"Council"

means the National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight and Logistics Industry;

"day"

for the purposes of calculating a night-shift allowance, means a period of 24 hours from midnight to midnight, and in the case of a normal working day or of an employee who works shifts, it means a period of 24 hours reckoned from the time work commences;

"drive"

includes—

(a)	all periods of driving;

(b)	all periods during which the driver of a motor vehicle is obliged to remain at his or her post in readiness to drive; and

(c)	any time spent by the driver in connection with the vehicle or its load;

"emergency services"

means any work which, owing to unforeseen causes such as fire, storm, accident, acts of violence or theft, must be done without delay and includes –

(a)	work essential for the maintenance of light, power or water supplies or sanitary and telephone services;

(b)	the transportation of machinery or any other thing to prevent any serious disruption in any undertaking, sector, trade or occupation, including transportation for the SA Police Service or for purposes of national defence;

(c)	completing the en route transportation and unloading of perishable products to prevent spoilage;

"employer"

means any person (excluding an owner driver)—

(a)	who employs or provides work for any other person and who remunerates or expressly or tacitly undertakes to remunerate that person;

(b)	who permits any person to assist them in carrying on or conducting their business; and

"establishment"

means any premises on or in connection with which one or more employees are employed in the Road Freight and Logistics Industry;

"extra-heavy motor vehicle (articulated)"

means a motor vehicle (articulated), the gross combination mass of which exceeds 16 000 kg but not 25 000 kg;

"extra-heavy motor vehicle (rigid)"

means a motor vehicle (rigid), the gross vehicle mass of which exceeds 16 000 kg but not 25 000 kg;

"forestry In-field operations"

means from the point of felling trees to the mill;

"furniture removal sector"

means all transport employers within the scope of the Council that exclusively transport and store new or used furniture or appliances for households or businesses;

"goods"

means any movable property, including but not limited to any article, commodity or substance such as sand, soil, gravel, stone, coal, water or other liquid, gaseous or solid matter and includes containers or containerised goods;

"gross combination mass"

in relation to a motor vehicle (articulated) that is used to draw another motor vehicle, means the maximum mass of the combination of vehicles, including that of the drawing motor vehicle and its load, as specified by the manufacturer or, in the absence of such specification, as determined by the registering authority concerned;

"gross vehicle mass"

in relation to a motor vehicle (rigid), means the maximum mass of such vehicle and its load as specified by the manufacturer or, in the absence of such specification, as determined by the registering authority concerned;

"hazardous substances"

means substances defined in the regulations for the transportation of hazardous substances under the Hazardous Substances Act, 15 of 1973;

"heavy motor vehicle (articulated)"

means a motor vehicle (articulated) the gross combination mass of which exceeds 9 000 kg but not 16 000 kg;

"heavy motor vehicle (rigid)"

means a motor vehicle (rigid), the gross vehicle mass of which exceeds 9 000 kg but not 16000 kg;

"hourly wage rate"

means the weekly wage divided by the number of ordinary hours of work worked by an employee in a week;

"hours of work"

includes all periods of driving and any time spent by a driver, security officer or any other employee on other work connected with the vehicle or the load and all periods during which the employee is obliged to remain at his or her post in readiness to work when required to do so, but does not include any meal interval prescribed in terms of clause 5 or any period in respect of which a subsistence allowance is payable to an employee in terms of clause 36, if during such interval or period the employee does no work other than remaining in charge of the vehicle and its load, if any, or guarding the vehicle and its load, if any;

"internal motor vehicle"

means a motor vehicle used on the premises of or inside an establishment;

"law"

Includes the common law;

"light motor vehicle"

means a motor vehicle, the gross vehicle mass or gross combination mass of which does not exceed 3 500 kg;

"medium motor vehicle (articulated)"

means a motor vehicle (articulated), the gross combination mass of which exceeds 3 500 kg but not 9 000 kg;

"medium motor vehicle (rigid)"

means a motor vehicle (rigid), the gross vehicle mass of which exceeds 3 500 kg but not 9 000 kg;

"month"

means a calendar month;

"monthly wage"

means an employee's weekly wage multiplied by four and a third (4,333);

"motor vehicle"

means any self-propelled vehicle used for conveying goods or containers and includes a truck-tractor, a motorcycle, a motor tricycle and a tractor, but does not include a mobile hoist;

"motor vehicle (articulated)"

means a combination of vehicles consisting of a motor vehicle and a semi-trailer or trailer or trailers;

"motor vehicle (rigid)"

means a motor vehicle other than a motor vehicle (articulated);

"night work"

means work performed after 18h00 and before 06h00 the next day;

"ordinary hours of work"

means the hours of work prescribed in clause 3(2) or, if by agreement between an employer and employee, the employee works a lesser number of ordinary hours, those lesser hours;

"overtime"

means, subject to the provisions of clause 11(2), all hours worked in excess of the ordinary hours of work prescribed in clause 3(1), other than on a Sunday or public holiday;

"public holiday"

means a public holiday specified in Schedule 1 of the Public Holidays Act, 36 of 1994 and any other day declared as such under Section 2A thereof;

"Road Freight and Logistics Industry" or "Industry"

means the sector in which employers and employees are associated for carrying on one or more of the following activities for hire or reward:

(a)	the transportation of goods by means of motor transport;

(b)	the storage of goods, Including the receiving, opening, unpacking, packing, dispatching and clearing, or accounting for, of goods if these activities are ancillary or incidental to paragraph (a); and

(c)	the hiring out by temporary employment services of employees for activities or operations which ordinarily or naturally fall within the transportation or storage of goods as contemplated by paragraphs (a) and (b) of this definition;

"running repairs"

means repairs to a vehicle and its component parts that can be effected by the driver, a security officer, grade I, or a general worker with tools normally supplied by the manufacturer of such vehicle, which includes normal tools required to change or pump a wheel, screwdrivers, pliers, spare globes and adjustable spanners;

"semi-trailer"

means a trailer without a front axle and designed or adapted to rest on and be drawn by a truck-tractor;

"substantive issues"

means all issues involving cost and affecting the wage packets of employees;

"sugar cane sector"

means that portion of the sugar transport sector in which employers and employees are primarily associated for the handling and transportation of sugar cane and associated products between the fields and mills for hire or reward;

"sugar cane in-field operations"

means operations between the point of harvesting sugar cane and the mill;

"team leader"

means an employee who, under general supervision, is in charge of a group of general workers and who may keep records of the work they do and engage in the same work;

"temporary employee of a temporary employment service"

means a temporary employee of a temporary employment service referred to in clause 66 of the Agreement and who renders services to a client that operates in the Industry and falls within the registered scope of the Council;

"temporary employment service"

means any person or labour broker who, for reward, procures for or provides to a client other persons who—

(a)	render services to, or performs work for, the client; and

(b)	are remunerated by the temporary employment service;

"tractor"

means a motor vehicle designed or adapted mainly for drawing other vehicles and not for carrying any load;

"trailer"

means a vehicle that is not self-propelled, but is designed or adapted to be drawn by a motor vehicle;

"truck-tractor"

means a motor vehicle designed or adapted to draw other vehicles and not to carry any load other than in the form of a trailer, semi-trailer or ballast resting on it and does not include a tractor;

"ultra-heavy motor vehicle"

means a motor vehicle, the gross vehicle mass or gross combination mass of which exceeds 25 000 kg;

"unauthorised absence"

means absence without leave (AWOL), unpaid leave or unpaid sick leave;

"wage"

means—

(a)	the amount of money payable to an employee as a basic wage in terms of Schedule 5 in respect of the employee's ordinary hours of work; or

(b)	a larger amount than that prescribed in Schedule 5 that an employer regularly pays an employee in respect of ordinary hours of work;

but excludes any bonus:

"wage register"

means the record required to be kept by an employer in terms of clause 50(3);

"working day"

means any consecutive period of work in the course of a working day, that has been set by an employer for an employee, but does not include any period of overtime and the following shall be computed as one (1) working day:

(a)	each Sunday on which an employee is required to work;

(b)	each Saturday on which an employee works at least nine overtime hours;

(c)	each working day on which an employee is absent on leave, sick leave, family responsibility leave, study leave or on the instruction or with the consent of the employer;

"year"

in respect of an employee, means any period of employment in the Industry extending over a period of 12 consecutive months.

2.	Job categories

Unless the context indicates otherwise, the following definitions apply to the following job categories—

"artisan assistant"

means an employee who assists an artisan by working on basic tasks such as removing covers, taking motors apart and doing repairs, under supervision, on basic equipment, using limited tools and manual equipment and also assisting in cleaning the work area and workshop;

"checker, grade I"

means an employee who checks the assembling, packing, unpacking, weighing, stacking, loading, unloading, marking or addressing of goods or containers and who checks, enters or records particulars of such goods or containers manually to a written or electronic statement;

"checker, grade II"

"custodian"

means an employee who drives a motor vehicle and is engaged in the guarding and handling of cash, valuables, securities and negotiable documents in transit and who may be required to carry firearms and to replenish Automated Teller Machines.

"despatch clerk"

means an employee who—

(a)	is responsible for the receipt, packing or despatch of goods or containers from a store, warehouse or storage place;

(b)	may supervise and check the work of a checker, grade I or II or a general worker; and

(c)	utilises information and data stored manually, or electronically on a computer system;

"driver"

means an employee who is engaged in driving a motor vehicle;

"gantry crane operator, grade I"

means an employee who is engaged in driving a gantry crane with a lifting capacity exceeding 6 000 kg, or in operating or controlling it from the floor of an establishment;

"gantry crane operator, grade II"

means an employee who is engaged in driving a gantry crane with a lifting capacity not exceeding 6 000 kg, or in operating or controlling it from the floor of an establishment;

"general worker"

means an employee who is engaged in one or more of the following duties:

(a)	Opening, closing, nailing up, sewing up, marking, tying, filling or emptying bales, vats, packing cases, boxes, tins, cartons, drums, bags or containers;

(b)	assisting in the loading or unloading of containers;

(c)	throwing over or removing tarpaulins or plastic coverings;

(d)	sealing or opening messages, packages, letters or goods and delivering or transporting them on foot, by pedal cycle or tricycle, or by hand·operated vehicle;

(e)	carrying, lifting, pulling, pushing, dragging, packing, unpacking, repacking, stacking, rolling up, shifting, loading or unloading any goods, containers, packages or vehicles, wheelbarrows, trolleys or other hand·operated vehicles, other than by using power-driven equipment;

(f)	pasting labels on goods or marking, branding, stamping or stencilling goods, or perforating labels;

(g)	parcelling, wrapping or tying goods;

(h)	replacing towels, soap or toilet paper;

(i)	cleaning goods or containers;

(j)	setting up or taking apart ready-made cardboard or fibreboard boxes or similar containers by hand;

(k)	shovelling or scattering stone, gravel, soil, clay, sand or other raw materials with a shovel;

(l)	boring, scraping down or sandpapering by hand;

(m)	guarding motor vehicles, goods or the loads on motor vehicles;

(n)	operating a hand operated crane, hoist, pump, duplicating machine, jack or winch;

(o)	assisting an artisan in ways other than by using the tools of his trade independently;

(p)	washing overalls, uniforms, protective clothing, packing material or blankets;

(q)	working on a motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer, or accompanying it on trips;

(f)	repairing packing cases, cases, crates or pallets by hand;

(s	cleaning premises, pallets, vehicles or machinery;

(t)	preparing rations or making or serving tea or similar beverages for employees or making or

(u)	serving tea or other refreshments for the employer or his guests;

(v)	using rubber or other stamps where selection or discretion is not needed;

(w)	opening or shutting railway trucks or containers;

(x)	applying paint or anti-rust agents to goods, trailers or semi-trailers by hand;

(y)	removing, replacing, changing or pumping wheels, tyres or tubes of motor vehicles, front-end loaders, mobile hoists, trailers, semi-trailers, cycles, wheelbarrows, trolleys or other hand-driven vehicles, or repairing tubes; or

(z)	any other manual labour.

"general worker, repair shop"

means an employee who assists an artisan by doing manual and physical tasks, which may include carrying tools, cleaning parts, cleaning the work area, packing away tools and helping where needed;

"loader operator, grade I"

means an employee who operates a power-driven front-end loader with a lifting capacity exceeding 6 000 kg, used in the loading, shifting or unloading of soil, sand, stones, gravel or any other raw materials, goods or containers;

"loader operator, grade II"

means an employee who operates a power-driven front-end loader with a lifting capacity not exceeding 6 000 kg, used in the loading, shifting or unloading of soil, sand, stones, gravel or any other raw materials, goods or containers;

"mobile hoist operator, grade I"

means an employee who is engaged in operating a power-driven mobile hoist or fork-lift truck with a lifting capacity exceeding 6 000 kg used in the loading, unloading, moving or stacking of goods or containers, but does not include an internal motor vehicle;

"mobile hoist operator, grade II"

means an employee who is engaged in operating a power-driven mobile hoist or fork-lift truck with a lifting capacity not exceeding 6 000 kg used in the loading, unloading, moving or stacking of goods or containers, but does not include an internal motor vehicle;

"other categories of employees"

means all employees employed in operations, warehousing, fleet maintenance and administration, but excluding management that take decisions to recruit or discipline employees, but including supervisors and controllers regardless of whether or not they may make decisions to recruit of discipline;

"owner-driver"

means an employer who is the owner or part-owner or leaseholder or renter of one or more motor vehicles used in transporting goods for hire or reward and who drives any such motor vehicle for the purposes of transporting goods;

"packer/loader, grade I"

means an employee who is responsible for packing or loading furniture into any container or into or out of a vehicle or unloading or unpacking furniture;

"packer/loader, grade II"

means an employee who is responsible for packing or loading furniture into any container or into or out of a vehicle or unloading or unpacking furniture and who supervises the activities of a general worker;

"part-time employee"

means an employee who does not work full-time, but who is employed on a permanent basis and who is only required to work a fixed and limited number of hours per day, per week or per month;

"Petroleum tanker driver"

means a driver who is engaged in the following duties:

(a)	Drive an extra heavy-duty vehicle (truck pulling tanker) containing dangerous/ high risk load (Petro-Chemical and Gas), delivering them to customers.

(b)	Participate in pre-trip briefing and post-trip debriefing sessions and complete pre-trip vehicle inspection checklist.

(c)	Receive and implement load instructions and requirements.

(d)	May be required to utilise the loading and offloading equipment at the gantry.

(e)	May also be required to plan delivery trips and choose best routes prior to starting trip.

(f)	Ensure relevant documentation to and from the client is correct.

(g)	Adhere to and implement safety procedures and processes of the employer and customer.

(h)	Ensure high levels of customer care and service at all times.

(i)	Exercise caution to ensure no contamination of product at the customer.

(j)	Attend regular refresher courses with regards to handling dangerous goods and other necessary requirements of the role.

[Definition inserted by General Notice 1692, GG48279, dated 23 March 2023]

"relief employee"

means an employee, other than a temporary employee of a temporary employment service, who is employed by the same employer for not more than 16 days in a 30-day period and not more than 144 days in a 52-week period;

"seasonal worker (Sugar Transport Sector)"

means an employee who is in the permanent employ of an employer transporting sugar cane and who, owing to the seasonal nature of the Sugar Sector, is required to report for duty only as and when required by the employer;

"security guard"

means an employee, other than a security officer, who is engaged in one or more of the following duties: guarding, protecting or patrolling premises, buildings, structures or other fixed or movable property, whether or not the employee handles or controls dogs in the performance of any or all of these duties;

"security officer, I"

means an employee who drives a motor vehicle and is engaged in the guarding of cash and valuables and the guarding and handling of securities and negotiable documents in transit and who may be required to carry firearms;

"security officer, II"

means an employee who is engaged in the guarding and handling of cash, valuables, securities and negotiable documents in transit and who may be required to carry firearms;

"security officer, III"

means an employee who receives, issues, moves and controls cash·carrying containers conveyed between security officers, I or II, and bank officials and who may be required to carry firearms;

"semi-skilled artisan"

means an employee who ,although still under the supervision of an artisan, works independently on jobs but is not held fully responsible for final checking and who—

(a)	does more complex repairs, uses fault-finding equipment, chooses alternative ways of carrying out tasks, operates electrical and mechanical equipment or may be required to do jobs such as basic welding, and

(b)	is not fully qualified as an artisan but could in the future do a trade test and qualify as an artisan;

"storeman (workshop)"

means an employee who is engaged in receiving, recording, storing, unpacking and issuing spares for the repair and maintenance of vehicles;

"storeman (warehouse)"

means an employee who is in charge of stocks of incoming goods or containers and who is responsible for receiving, recording, storing, packing or unpacking goods or containers in a store or a warehouse or a storage place and for delivering goods or containers from a store, warehouse or storage place for despatch;

"vehicle guard"

means an employee who is engaged to provide a protective armed service to the security officer II in securing an area or guarding cash, valuables, securities and negotiable documents in transit.