Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act No. 66 of 1995) Notices National Bargaining Council for the Electrical Industry of South Africa Extension to Non-parties of the Main Collective Agreement Part l: Scope of Application, Definitions and General Terms and Conditions of Employment Clause 4 - Definitions

 

In this Agreement the masculine pronoun shall include the feminine and neuter, and the singular the plural, where the context so indicates.

 

Any expressions used in this Agreement which are defined in the Labour Relations Act, 1995, shall have the same meaning as in that Act, and any reference in this Agreement to an Act shall include any amendments to such Act; further, and unless the context otherwise indicates -

 

"abscond"

means the absence from work of an employee for a period in excess of four consecutive working days without the employer being informed or notified of the reasons therefore, or the desertion by an employee of his employment for reasons unknown to the employer.

 

"Act"

means the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995;

 

"apprentice"

means an employee serving under a written contract of apprenticeship registered with the relevant Sector Education Training Authority (SETA);

 

The definitions of the different stages of apprenticeship, as originally published under the Conditions of Apprenticeship under the Manpower Training Act 1981 are the following:

 

"Stage 1" - Wage equals 38% of wage of electrician

This stage shall not exceed 4 months and the apprentice shall attend M0 - M3 and pass the test based on these modules.

 

"Stage 2" - Wage equals 45% of wage of electrician

This stage shall not exceed 58 weeks. It commences on the day following successful completion of modular test based on M0 - M3, as referred to above, and ends on successful completion of Trade Test "A".

 

"Stage 3" - Wage equals 50% of wage of electrician

This stage shall not exceed 65 weeks and commences on the day following successful completion of Trade Test "A", as referred to above, and ends on successful completion of modular test based on M4 - M6 as well as Phase Test "B".

 

"Stage 4" - Wage equals 70% of wage of electrician

This stage shall include a minimum of 17 weeks' practical on the job experience in M4 - M6, demonstrating practical competence in each module, successful completion of the NTC Part Ii (N2) and commences on the day following successful completion of Phase Test "B" and ends within 14 days of successful completion of Trade Test "B".

 

"artisan"

means an employee who has completed his training in terms of the former Manpower Training Act, 1981, or is in possession of a certificate issued in terms of the Skills Development Act 1998, as amended, recognising that he has received training sufficient to entitle such an employee to work as an artisan in the Industry.

 

"Building Industry"

without in any way limiting  the ordinary meaning of the expression, means the industry in which employers and their employees are associated for the purpose of erecting, completing, renovating, repairing, maintaining or altering buildings and structures and/or making articles for use in erecting, completing or altering buildings and structures, whether the work is performed, the material is prepared, or the necessary articles are made on the sites of the buildings or structures or elsewhere, and includes all work executed or carried out by persons who are engaged in the trades, activities or subdivisions in the Building Industry excluding the Electrical Industry.

 

"certificate"

means a certificate of registration issued in terms of Regulation 11(3) of the Electrical Installation Regulations, 2009.

 

"civil disorder"

means the concerted action of a number of people, not employed by the employer, to disrupt, for any purpose whatsoever , the normal activities of the employer at his place of business or any working site, or to prevent employees either from reaching such place of business or working site or from commencing or continuing to work .

 

"Council"

means the National Bargaining Council for the Electrical Industry of South Africa.

 

"domestic appliance mechanic (DAM)" or "refrigeration mechanic"

means an employee engaged in one or more of the following classes of work: diagnosing faults in, or directing or executing repairs or adjustments to, or servicing, assembling, erecting and/or installing ranges, refrigerators, washing machines, ironers, air­ conditioning units and all other major electrical appliances, carrying out final tests or supervising of such operations, but does not include an employee engaged in connecting to existing outlets, refrigerators, ranges, or other domestic electrical appliances .

 

"domestic appliance repairer (DAR)"

(applicable in the province of KwaZulu-Natal only) means an employee engaged in—

 

"driver"

means an employee engaged in driving a mechanical vehicle on a public road who is in possession of a valid driver's licence issued under any Road Traffic Ordinance.

 

"electrical assistant"

means an employee who is engaged in any or all of the following tasks:

 

"electrical construction operator level 1"

(hereinafter referred to as 'Elconop 1') means an employee who has received on-the-job training by the employer and who undertakes any of the following tasks and who may use the tools necessary to perform such tasks:

 

"electrical construction operator, level 2"

(hereinafter referred to as 'Elconop 2') means an employee, who has attended the prescribed formal training course at an institutionalised training centre accredited by a relevant Sector Education Training Authority (SETA), has undergone on-the-job training and has successfully passed the examination for Elconop 2 at an institutionalised training centre recognised by the Council and accredited by a relevant SETA, and who may be engaged in any or all of the following tasks, and may use the tools necessary to perform such tasks: Provided such tasks are carried out only under the supervision of a master installation electrician, an installation electrician , an electrical tester for single-phase , an electrician/artisan or an Elconop 3—

 

"electrical construction operator level 3"

(hereinafter referred to as 'Elconop 3') means an employee who has been employed in the Industry as an Elconop 2 for a continuous period of at least 12 months and has attended the prescribed formal training course at an institutionalised training centre accredited by a relevant Sector Education Training Authority (SETA), has undergone on-the-job training and has successfully passed the examination for Elconop 3 at an institutionalised training centre recognised by the Council and accredited by a relevant SETA, or who is in possession of a registration card issued by the Council recognising him as an Elconop 3 and who may be engaged in any or all of the following tasks, and may use the tools necessary to perform such tasks:

 

"electrical contractor"

means a person who undertakes to perform electrical installation work on behalf of any other person but excludes an employee of such first mentioned person.

 

"Electrical Engineering lndustry"

means the industry concerned with

 

"Electrical Industry" or "Industry"

means the industry in which employers and their employees are associated for any or all of the following:

 

For the purposes of this definition—

Provided that the Electrical Industry, as defined above, shall not include the Iron, Steel, Engineering and Metallurgical Industry , the Local Authority Undertaking and the Building Industry as defined in the Council's certificate of registration .

 

"electrical installation"

means any machinery, in or on any premises, used for the transmission of electricity from a point of control to a point of consumption anywhere on the premises, including any article forming part of such an installation irrespective of whether or not it is part of the electrical circuit, but excluding—

 

"electrical tester for single-phase"

means a person who has been registered as an electrical tester for single-phase in terms of the Electrical Installation Regulations 2009 made under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993.

 

"electrical wiring"

means the design, installation, alteration, repair or testing of any cable, conductor, fitting, apparatus, or conduit used or intended to be used for purposes integral or incidental to the supply and/or consumption of electricity.

 

"electrician"

means an employee who has completed an apprenticeship in terms of either the former Manpower Training Act, 1981 in a trade relevant to the Industry, or who has received training recognised by a relevant SETA as being sufficient to entitle him to work as an electrician in the Industry.

 

"employee"

means any person employed on any of the classes of work defined in this Agreement and includes a person employed under a contract of apprenticeship recognised by the Council.

 

"employer"

means any person who employs or provides work for any person and remunerates or expressly or tacitly undertakes to remunerate him or who permits any person in any manner to assist him in the carrying on or conducting of his business and includes temporary employment services as defined in the Act.

 

"establishment"

means the place where the employer normally carries on his business and where his wage records are kept.

 

"fixed term contract"

means a contract of employment which terminates on the occurrence of a specified event, the completion of a specified task or project, or on a fixed date other than an employee's normal or agreed-upon retirement age.

 

"foreman"

means an electrician or artisan who has been appointed by his employer to supervise work defined in this Agreement: Provided that such employee may also be required to undertake electrical installation work himself if so required by his employer.

 

"Freedom of Association"

means the right of an employee to join or not to join a trade union of his choice, and the right of an employer to join or not to join an employers' organisation of his choice.

 

"general assistant"

means an employee who

 

"general control"

in relation to electrical installation work that is being carried out, includes instruction, guidance, and supervision in respect of that work.

 

"independent appeals body"

means any CCMA accredited person or persons appointed by the Council in terms of Section 32 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995, as amended, to hear and decide any appeal brought against the Council's refusal of a non-parties or a party's application for exemption from the provisions of the Collective Agreement and the withdrawal of such an exemption by the Council.

 

"installation electrician"

means a person who has been registered as an installation electrician in terms of the Electrical Installation Regulations, 1992 or 2009, made under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993, and who has been approved by the chief inspector for the verification and certification of the construction, testing, and inspection of any electrical installation, excluding specialised electrical installations.

 

"installation work"

means:

 

"Iron, Steel, Engineering and Metallurgical Industry"

means (subject to the provisions of any Demarcation Determinations made in terms of Section 76 of the Labour Relations Act, 1956, and Section 62 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995), the industry concerned with the production of iron and/or steel and/or the processing and/or recovery and/or refining of metals (other than precious metals) and/or alloys from dross and/or scrap and/or residues; the maintenance, fabrication, erection or assembly, construction, alteration, replacement or repair of any machine, vehicle (other than a motor vehicle) or article consisting mainly of metal (other than precious metals) or parts or components thereof and structural metal work, including steel reinforcement work; the manufacture of metal goods principally from such iron and/or steel and/or other metals (other than precious metals) and/or alloys and/or the finishing of metal goods; the building and/or alteration and/or repair of boats and/or ships, including the scraping, chipping and/or scaling and/or painting of the hulls of boats and/or ships; and general woodwork undertaken in connection with ship repairs, and includes the Electrical Engineering Industry.

 

"lay-off"

means the temporary suspension, without pay, of employment for a minimum of five full consecutive shifts due to a reduction in the volume of work in an establishment or section of an establishment or due to any other economic reason or any other contingency or circumstances beyond the control of the employer.

 

"learner"

means the person who is party to a learnership agreement with an employer or group of employers, and an accredited training provider or a group of accredited training providers in terms of the Skills Development Act, 1998 as amended.

 

"Local Authority Undertaking"

means the undertaking in which employers and their employees are associated for the introduction, continuation, or completion of any action, scheme or activity undertaken by a local authority: Provided that for the purposes hereof the Electrical Industry as defined above shall not include work performed by a local authority exclusively for local authority purposes, but shall include all work performed on the property of a local authority by a registered electrical contractor or his employees or any other person who is not an employee of a local authority: Provided further that the Local Authority Undertaking shall not include the activities of the Electrical Industry.

 

"lock-up"

means any vehicle shed, room, workshop, factory, or similar place, constructed of four walls and a roof, composed of concrete, brickwork, wood, iron, or any combination thereof, which can be securely locked, the whole to be so constructed as to provide a place of safe-keeping at any time of employees' tools and clothes and all other tools issued to them by the employer .

 

"master installation electrician"

means a person who has been registered as a master installation electrician in terms of the Electrical Installation Regulations, 1992 or 2009, made under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993, and who has been approved by the chief inspector for the verification and certification of the construction, testing, and inspection of any electrical installation.

 

"no-fault dismissal"

means the dismissal of an employee for reasons including but not limited to operational requirements, incapacity due to ill health, liquidation of the firm or insolvency of the individual.

 

"piece work"

means any system under which the minimum wage to which an employee is entitled is calculated solely on the quantity or output of work done, irrespective of the time spent on such work.

 

"premises"

means any land and any building or structure, or part thereof, above or below the surface of any land and includes any vehicle, aircraft, or vessel.

 

"public holiday"

means any day that is a public holiday as determined in the Public Holidays Act 36 of 1994.

 

"region A"

means the Provinces of Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and North West Province.

 

"region A1"

means the Free State/Northern Cape Region incorporating the Provinces of the Free State and the Northern Cape; but excludes the Magisterial Districts of Calvinia, Namaqualand and Sutherland in the Northern Cape.

 

"region B"

means the Eastern / Southern Cape Region incorporating the Province of the Eastern Cape and the Magisterial Districts of Beaufort West, Calitzdorp, George, Knysna, Ladismith, Mossel Bay, Murraysburg, Oudshoorn, Prince Albert, and Uniondale in the Western Cape Province but excludes the Magisterial District of Umzimkulu in the Eastern Cape.

 

"region C"

means the Province of Kwazulu Natal and the Magisterial District of Umzimkulu in the Eastern Cape.

 

"region D"

means the Province of the Western Cape and the Magisterial Districts of Ca!vinia, Namaqualand and Sutherland in the Northern Cape but excludes the Magisterial Districts of Beaufort West, Calitzdorp, George, Knysna, Ladismith, Mossel Bay, Murraysburg, Oudshoorn, Prince Albert, Riversdale, and Uniondale in the Western Cape.

 

"regional exemption committee"

means the exemption committee appointed by the regional committee of the Council.

 

"regional sick benefit fund committee"

means a Regional Committee established by the Council.

 

"registered person"

means a person registered in terms of Regulation 11 of the Electrical Installation Regulations, 2009, as an electrical tester for single phase, an installation electrician, or a master installation electrician, as the case may be.

 

"remuneration"

means any payment in money or in kind, or both in money and in kind, made or owing to any person in return for that person's working for any other person, and "remunerate" has a corresponding meaning and for the purposes of calculating an employee's annual leave pay, notice pay or severance pay, an employee's remuneration.

 

"retrenchment"

means a termination of employment due to the employer's operational requirements.

 

"SAQA"

means the South African Qualifications Authority under the National Qualifications Framework Act 67 of 2008 .

 

"SBF"

means the National Sick Benefit Fund of the Council.

 

"SETA"

means the Sector Education and Training Authority established in terms of Section 9(1) of the Skills Development Act, 1998.

 

"shift"

means a working day.

 

"short time"

means the implementation of reduced working time i.e., lesser number of ordinary hours per day and/or lesser number of days per week, owing to a shortage of work and /or materials and any other justifiable contingencies and/or unforeseen contingencies and/or circumstances beyond the control of the employer.

 

"specialised electrical installations"

means electrical installations in

 

"specified formal training"

means a structured learning component and practical work experience of a specified nature and duration, and culminates in a qualification registered with SAQA.

 

"storeman"

means an employee who is engaged in any or all of the following tasks:

 

"suitable accommodation"

means a hotel, boarding house, caravan, or other suitable accommodation and in the event of a dispute regarding what is suitable accommodation, the National Council shall give a ruling.

 

"temporary employment service"

means any person who, for reward, procures for or provides to a client, other persons who render services to, or perform work for, the client and who are remunerated by the temporary employment service.

 

"temporary service"

is work for a client by an employee for a period not exceeding three (3) months:

 

"Tier"

means:

The areas falling under each Tier are attached to this Agreement as ADDENDUM 1.

Note: In the event of any municipal area being omitted from the above, the Council shall determine under which Tier such municipal area should be placed.

 

"wage"

means the hourly rate prescribed in Clause 4 Part II of this Agreement: Provided that where an employer regularly pays an employee an amount higher than that prescribed in the said clause, it shall mean such higher amount.

 

"wireways"

means cable trays or any enclosed casing for containing wires, cables, or busbars.

 

"working day"

means any day, other than a Saturday, a Sunday, or a public holiday.

 

"working employer"

means an employer or any partner in a partnership who does manual work in the Industry, a sole proprietor, a working director or an employer who is engaged in any work defined in this Agreement, and who is deemed to be an employee in respect of whom contributions are required to be made in terms of this Agreement and if he is a partner, a certified copy of the deed of partnership shall be lodged with the Council.

 

"workplace"

means the place or places where the employees of an employer work. If an employer carries on or conducts two or more operations that are independent of one another by reason of their size, function or organisation , the place, or places where employees work in connection with each independent operation , constitutes the workplace for that operation.