| A. | DISPUTES ABOUT INTERPRETATION OR APPLICATION OF AGREEMENT |
Unless otherwise provided in the NTBC Constitution, any dispute concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement within the registered scope of the Council must be resolved as set out below:
| 1. | The Secretary of the Council shall at any time require a designated agent to monitor compliance with the provisions of the Agreement. |
| 2. | A dispute about the interpretation, application or enforcement of this Agreement may be lodged with or referred to the Secretary of the Council by any person for resolution in terms of this Agreement. |
| 3. | The Secretary of the Council shall require a designated agent to investigate the dispute. |
| 4. | The designated agent shall investigate the facts surrounding the dispute and if the agent has reason to believe that a Collective Agreement has been breached, the agent may endeavour to secure compliance with such Agreement through conciliation. |
| 5. | The designated agent must submit, within seven days, a written report to the Secretary on the investigation, the steps taken to secure compliance and the outcome of those steps. |
| 6. | If in the course of performing a designated agent's duties, an agent discovers what appears to be a breach of an Agreement, the agent— |
| 6.1 | must investigate the alleged breach; |
| 6.2 | must endeavour to secure compliance with the Agreement;, and |
| 6.3 | must submit a report to the Secretary on the investigation, the steps taken to secure compliance and the outcome of those steps. |
| 7. | On receipt of the report, the Secretary may— |
| 7.1 | require the designated agent to make further investigations; |
| 7.2 | appoint a conciliator from the Council's panel of conciliators if further conciliation is indicated; |
| 7.3 | refer the dispute for conciliation to the Disputes Committee of the Council; |
| 7.4 | issue a compliance order; or |
| 7.5 | refer the dispute to arbitration in terms of this Agreement. |
| 8. | If a conciliator is appointed or the dispute is referred to the Disputes Committee, the Secretary must decide the date, time and venue of the conciliation meeting and must serve notices of these particulars on the parties to the dispute. |
| 9. | If a compliance order is issued, that order must be served on the party allegedly in breach of this Agreement. |
| 10. | The party on whom the order is served may object in writing. The objection must be served on the Council within 14 days of service of the order. |
| 11. | If a party objects, the Secretary may take any of the steps referred to in clause 7, except the issuing of another compliance order. |
| 12. | If a party fails to object, the Secretary may, at any time, apply to have the order made an arbitration award. |
| 13. | If the dispute is referred to arbitration the Secretary must appoint an arbitrator from the panel of arbitrators. |
| 14. | The Secretary, in consultation with the arbitrator, must decide the date, time and venue of the arbitration hearing. |
| 15. | The Secretary must serve notice of the date, time and venue of the arbitration on— |
| 15.1 | the parties to the dispute; |
| 15.2 | any person who may have a legal interest in the outcome of the arbitration. |
| 16.1 | endeavour to conciliate the dispute; and |
| 16.2 | if the dispute remains unresolved, resolve the dispute through arbitration. |
| 17. | The arbitrator must conduct the arbitration in a manner that the arbitrator considers appropriate in order to determine the dispute fairly and quickly, but must deal with the substantial merits of the disputes with the minimum of legal formalities, and in terms of the rules adopted by Council. |
| 18. | Subject to the arbitrator's discretion as to the appropriate form of the proceedings, a party to the dispute, including the Council, may give evidence, call witnesses, question witnesses of any other party, and address concluding arguments to the arbitrator. |
| 19. | The arbitrator may suspend the arbitration proceedings and attempt to resolve the dispute through conciliation if the Council and the parties to the dispute consent to this. |
| 20. | In any arbitration proceedings, a party to the dispute may appear in person or be represented by a legal practitioner, or by a member, office-bearer or official of that party's trade union or employer's organisation and, if the party is a juristic person, by a director or employee. |
| 21. | If the party who referred the dispute to the Council fails to appear in person or to be represented at the arbitration proceedings, the arbitrator may dismiss the matter. |
| 22. | If a party, other than the party who referred the dispute to the Council, fails to appear in person or to be represented at the arbitration proceedings, the arbitrator may— |
| 22.1 | continue with the arbitration proceedings in the absence of that party; or |
| 22.2 | adjourn the arbitration proceedings to a later date. |
| 23. | The Secretary may refer disputes to expedited arbitration if the Secretary is satisfied that— |
| 23.1 | a compliance order has been issued and the party on whom the order has been issued has not objected to the order; |
| 23.2 | the dispute is capable of being determined by written evidence only; |
| 23.3 | the dispute is about the interpretation or enforcement of the Agreement; or |
| 23.4 | the parties to the dispute agree thereto. |
| 24. | Notwithstanding the provisions of clause 19, the arbitrator may determine the dispute and make the compliance order an award without hearing oral evidence if the arbitrator is satisfied that— |
| 24.1 | the parties have been properly served; and |
| 24.2 | it is appropriate in the circumstances to do so. |
| 25. | Within 14 days of the conclusion of the arbitration proceedings— |
| 25.1 | the arbitrator must issue an arbitration award, with reasons signed by the arbitrator; and |
| 25.2 | the council must serve a copy of that award on each party to the dispute. |
| 26. | On good cause shown, the Secretary of the Council may extend the period in which the arbitration award and the reasons are to be served and filed. |
| 27. | An arbitrator may make any appropriate award, including an order for costs, that gives effect to the Agreement. |
| 28. | An arbitrator may at his/her own initiative or as a result of an application by an affected party, vary of rescind and award— |
| 28.1 | Erroneously sought or made in the absence of any party affected by the award; |
| 28.2 | in which there is ambiguity, or an obvious error or omission, but only to the extent of that ambiguity, error or omission; or |
| 28.3 | granted as a result of a mistake common to the parties to the proceedings. |
| 29. | The Secretary of the Council may apply to make the arbitration award an order of the Labour Court under section 158 (1) of the Labour Relations Act [as amended]. |
| 30. | The provisions of this dispute procedure stand in addition to any other legal remedy through which the Council may enforce a Collective Agreement. |
Other disputes shall be dealt with in terms of the dispute provisions of the NTBC Constitution or in terms of the applicable labour legislation of the Republic of South Africa,
