The Department of Labour has granted the request of the Building Industry Bargaining Council Cape of Good Hope to increase its jurisdiction.
The Council’s authority now Overstrand Local Municipality, which means building industry employers, employees and unions in Gansbaai, Hangklip, Hermanus, Kleinmond and Stanford will be governed by the same collective agreement as the Peninsula, Boland and Malmesbury areas.
“We estimate that there are about 200 builders who will be affected in this area says Arnold Williams, secretary for BIBC (Cape of Good Hope).
“This means those employers will now be regulated and will have to compete on an equal footing with the employers in the other areas, as the cost of labour will be controlled. The parties to the council are in the process of negotiating the wages that should be prescribed for the area, and the party trade unions have started a comprehensive recruitment drive.
Building Industry employers and employees in the Overstrand district are presently governed only by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, which does not prescribe minimum wages, and only makes provision for hours of work, annual leave and sick leave. This means that there are several issues on which the act is silent, creating disparity throughout the regions.
“With the expansion of the BIBC’s jurisdiction, the critical elements of minimum prescribed wages and benefits, annual bonuses, levies, medical aid, sick payment funds, public holidays, pension and provident funds will all be laid out, bringing out greater equality.”
The Building Industry Bargaining Council (Cape of Good Hope) collective agreement presently covers the Cape Peninsula, Paarl, Wellington, Somerset West, Strand, Stellenbosch, Darling and Malmesbury.
For further information on any labour related matters, you can contact
Bernard Reisner:

W.Tel no.: 021 423 3959
Fax: 021 423 2105
Cell: 082 433 8714
E-mail: bernard@capelabour.co.za
Website: www.capelabour.co.za