Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act No. 66 of 1995)NoticesNational Bargaining Council of SA Leather IndustryTanning SectionCollective Agreement17. Agency Shop Agreement |
| (1) | An agency shop agreement is hereby introduced in terms of section 25 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995. The object of this agreement is to ensure that all employees who receive the benefits of collective bargaining contribute towards its costs. |
| (2) | Subject to the provisions of this clause, a levy to be known as an "Agency Fee" will be deducted from the wages of all employees who are employed in positions for which wages are prescribed in the tanning sector collective agreement, and who are not members of the trade unions who are parties to the National Bargaining Council of the Leather Industry of South Africa. |
| (3) | Despite the provisions of this agreement, all prescribed employees who are not members of the trade unions remain eligible for membership of the trade unions. |
| (4) | In the event of any non member electing to join either of the trade unions, such employee will be exempted from the agency fee, and will be transferred to the applicable trade union membership. Trade union membership fee deductions will then commence against the wages of such employee. |
| (5) | No employee who is covered by the tanning sector collective agreement will be compelled to become a member of the trade unions. |
| (6) | The agency fee shall be equal to 1% (one percent) but not exceeding R10,50 of the employee’s basic weekly wage. |
(7)
| (a) | The agency fee so calculated and deducted from the employee’s basic wage will be paid monthly to the General Secretary of the National Bargaining Council of the Leather Industry of South Africa, P O Box 3959, North End, 6056, Port Elizabeth, or at any other such address the Council may decide from time to time, by no later than the fifteenth (15th) day of the following month. |
| (b) | The General Secretary (or any other duly designated Council employee) will deposit monies received in terms of sub clause 7(a) into a banking account administered by the Council. |
| (c) | The General Secretary will, at the end of each month, transmit to the trade unions which are parties to the Council, the agency monies received for the preceding month in proportion to their representation in the tanning sector. A conscientious objector may request an employer to pay the agency fee deducted from his wages into a fund administered by the Department of Labour. |
| (d) | The trade unions will, on receipt of the agency fees from the Council, deposit such amounts into separate accounts and administer same. |
| (8) | When transmitting payments in terms of sub clause 7(a), the employer will submit a list of the employees from whose wages the agency fee has been deducted. |
| (9) | The list submitted in terms of sub clause (8) must reflect the following: |
| (i) | Name, surname and work number of contributor; |
| (ii) | Weekly wage of contributor; |
| (iii) | Agency fee deducted. |
| (10) | No agency fee deducted may be— |
| (a) | paid to a political party as an affiliation fee; |
| (b) | paid as a contribution in cash or kind to a political party or a person standing for election to any political office; or |
| (c) | used for any expenditure that does not advance or protect the socio economic interests of employees. |
| (11) | This agreement will terminate if the trade unions are no longer representative within the tanning sector. In the event of this occurring, the employer must give the trade unions written notice of their lack of representation, and allow them 90 days from the date of notification to establish that they are representative. If the trade unions fail to establish their representation within the 90 day period, the employer must give the trade union and the employees covered by the agency shop agreement 30 days’ notice of termination, after which period the agreement will terminate. |
| (12) | In the event of this agency shop agreement being terminated, the provisions of section 98, 100(b) and (c) of the Labour Relations Act 1995 will apply in terms of subclauses 7(c) and 10. |