| (1) |
Employees residing in accommodation provided by their employer are entitled to exercise their fundamental rights including their freedom of association not only at the workplace but also in their living quarters5. |
| (2) |
During a protected and peaceful strike or lockout, the employer, at the request of the employee, should not discontinue payment In kind in respect of accommodation, the provision of food and other basic amenities of life such as the provision of water and heating. The parties may regulate this by way of a collective agreement as provided for in section 34(1)(b) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) and which may include provisions for the employer to recover such payment in kind by way of deductions from an employee's wages after the industrial action. |
| (3) |
The employer may recover the monetary value of the payment in kind made at the request of the employee during the strike or lockout from the employee in terms of the BCEA and Act. |
| (4) |
Freedom of association in the context of employees residing at their place of work, means— |
| (a) |
the right of an employee to choose either— |
| (i) |
to strike or not to strike; or |
| (ii) |
to participate or not to participate in a collective decision to resist a lockout; |
| (b) |
that every employee must respect the right of other employees— |
| (i) |
to strike or not to strike; |
| (ii) |
to participate or not to participate in a collective decision to resist a lockout; |
| (b) |
to work or not to work during the strike or lockout; |
| (c) |
the right of every employee not to be interfered with, threatened with or intimidated when entering or exiting the workplace, commuting to and from the workplace, in their living quarters (if provided by the employer) or their homes or within their communities. |
| (5) |
Every employee must respect the right to freedom of movement in particular— |
| (a) |
the right of management to enter and exit its premises; |
| (b) |
the right of non-striking workers to enter and exit the workplace and their living quarters and to use public transport; |
| (c) |
the right of third parties to enter and exit the employer's premises and do business with the employer; |
| (d) |
an employer's right to continue and maintain production, subject to the restrictions on replacement labour contained in section 76 of the Act;. |
| (6) |
All parties must take all reasonable steps to ensure that their employees and members comply with (4) and (5) above. |
| (7) |
Nothing in this clause restricts a lawful and peaceful picket on the employer's premises in accordance with section 69 of the Act and Part E: Picketing. |
______________________________
5 The ILO Workers' Housing Recommendation 115 of 1961.
Statistics Act, 1999
