Any dispute arising between the parties to the Bargaining Council other than disputes referred to in clauses 2 and 4 of Chapter 3, shall be subject to arbitration and shall be dealt with as follows:
| 3.1 | The party or parties who claim that a dispute exists must refer the dispute in writing to the General Secretary of the Bargaining Council within 30 calendar days from the date the dispute arose. |
| 3.2 | The written referral must reflect the following information: |
| 3.2.1 | the details of the party or parties referring the dispute; |
| 3.2.2 | the details of the party or parties with whom the referring party is in dispute; |
| 3.2.3 | the nature of the dispute; |
| 3.2.4 | the date the dispute arose; |
| 3.2.5 | the outcome the referring party requires. |
| 3.3 | The referral must reach the General Secretary of the Bargaining Council together with proof from the party or parties who refer the dispute satisfying the General Secretary that a copy of the referral has been served on all other parties to the dispute. |
| 3.4 | The General Secretary shall appoint an independent arbitrator, which may include a panelist, within 14 calendar days of receiving the written referral and proof that a copy of the referral has been served on all other parties to the dispute. |
| 3.5 | The arbitrator may conciliate and/or arbitrate the dispute in terms of the Act as if it were one of those disputes referred to in the Act and must hand down either a settlement in the case of a conciliation or a ruling in the case of an arbitration, within seven calendar days of the conciliation or arbitration been finalised. |
| 3.6 | The settlement or ruling as referred to in clause 3.10 above shall be final and binding on the parties to the dispute. |
| 3.7 | The total cost to the above-mentioned process shall be paid by the Council's General Fund. |
| 3.8 | The process as described in this clause may be deviated from only if a future collective agreement determines a different process or by agreement between the parties to the dispute. |
