| (1) | The essential services committee must, taking into account the nature and complexity of the issue, assign each matter before it to a panel consisting of either three or five persons, including the assessors referred to in subsections (3) and (4). |
| (2) | A panel must be presided over by the chairperson or deputy chairperson of the essential services committee or by a senior commissioner referred to in subsection (3). |
| (3) | The Commission must compile a list of suitably trained senior commissioners who may preside at panel hearings. |
| (4) | If the essential services committee constitutes a three—member panel, it must either— |
| (a) | appoint two of its members to serve as assessors; or |
| (b) | invite the employer and trade union parties participating in the hearing to each nominate an assessor. |
| (5) | If the essential services committee constitutes a five—member panel, it must— |
| (a) | appoint two of its members to serve as its assessors; and |
| (b) | invite the employer and trade union parties participating in the hearing to each nominate an assessor. |
| (6) | If the essential services committee appoints assessors from its members to serve on a panel, it must appoint one who was nominated to the essential services committee by— |
| (b) | organised business or government, depending on the sector concerned. |
| (7) | A member of the essential services committee may be nominated to serve as an assessor in terms of subsections (4)(b) and (5)(b). |
| (8) | The essential services committee may appoint an assessor if the trade union or employer parties participating in the hearing fail to nominate an assessor in terms of subsections (4)(b) and (5)(b) within the prescribed period. |
| (9) | When appointing or nominating an assessor in terms of subsections (4) to (8), the essential services committee, and any party to a matter before it, must take into account the person’s skills, experience, expertise and knowledge of the sector concerned. |
[Section 70C inserted by section 11 of Act No. 6 of 2014]
