Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act No. 66 of 1995)NoticesNational Bargaining Council for the Clothing Manufacturing IndustryMain Collective AgreementPart C : Provisions for the KwaZulu-Natal Region4. Wages |
| (1) | Wage Schedule (for clothing establishments): |
Where any of the Council's prescribed wage rates in the National Main Collective Agreement is less than the National Minimum Wage (NMW) it will be adjusted upwards to at least the NMW. The onus is on the employer to ensure that they are not in contravention of the NMW.
[Words preceding Clause 4(Part C)(4)(1)(a) inserted by section 5(2) of Notice No. R. 421, GG44572, dated 14 May 2021]
| (a) | Subject to the provisions of this part of the Agreement, the minimum wages that shall be paid to and accepted by the under-mentioned classes of employees employed at clothing establishments shall be as follows: |
[Part C(4)(1)(a) Table substituted by section 5(1) of Notice No. R. 4360, GG50106, dated 9 February 2024]
Where any of the Council's prescribed wage rates in the National Main Collective Agreement is less than the National Minimum Wage (NMW) it will be adjusted upwards to at least the NMW. The onus is on the employer to ensure that they are not in contravention of the NMW.
[Words preceding Clause 4(Part C)(4)(1)(b) inserted by section 5(4) of Notice No. R. 421, GG44572, dated 14 May 2021]
| (b) | Wage Schedule (for garment knitting establishments) |
Subject to the provisions of this part of the Agreement, the minimum wages that shall be paid to and accepted by the under-mentioned classes of employees employed at Garment Knitting establishments, shall be as follows:
[Part C(4)(1)(b) Table substituted by section 5(2) of Notice No. R. 4360, GG50106, dated 9 February 2024]
| (6) | A once-off payment equivalent to one (1) day's pay at the rates applicable as at the end of December 2020 shall be paid to all employees by no later than 1st June 2021. |
[Clause 4(Part C)(4)(6) inserted by section 5(6) of Notice No. R. 421, GG44572, dated 14 May 2021]
Table of Clauses
Clause No. |
Existing 2022/2023 |
New 2023/2024 |
25(1) |
R4,14 |
R4,41 |
25(2) |
R5,61 |
R5,97 |
26(1) |
52 cents |
55 cents |
26(2) |
74 cents |
79 cents |
40(1) |
31 August 2023 |
31 August 2024 |
40(1) |
1 September 2022 |
1 September 2023 |
Annexure C of Clause 43(5) |
24 cents |
26 cents |
[Table of Clauses substituted by section 5(3) of Notice No. R. 4360, GG50106, dated 9 February 2024]
Whenever a qualified Grade 2 employee is transferred to another occupation classified as the work of a Grade 1 employee, he shall receive not less than his existing rate of pay for a period of six months and thereafter, on completion of that period, he shall received his next increment and thereafter the prescribed increments in his new occupation. An unqualified Grade 2 employee who is transferred to another occupation classified as the work of a Grade 1 employee, shall be paid not less than the wage he was receiving prior to his transfer, but shall be paid the prescribed increments in his new occupation.
(2) New Employees
| 2.1 | New employees shall be paid a weekly wage of 70% of the rate in metro areas, subject to the following provisions: |
| 2.1.1 | New employees are those persons with no previous working experience in the industry and shall include those persons with previous work experience but who have not been employed in the industry for a period of 3 years. |
| 2.1.2 | The provision is only applicable to compliant companies. |
2.1.3
| (a) | The new entry-level wage provision will continue in force and effect as an industry-wide provision after the 31st August 2014 if there has been an increase in employee strength of compliant employers in the industry of at least 15% as at 31st March 2014, monitored on a bi-annual basis. |
| (b) | The bi-annual benchmark monitoring shall be measured against the following schedule of new employment growth: |
1 March 2012: |
3% increase |
1 September 2012: |
6% increase |
1 March 2013 |
9% increase |
1 September 2013 |
12% increase |
1 March 2014 |
15% increase |
| 2.1.4 | It is only applicable to those compliant companies who were in existence and operational as at 1 June 2011. |
| 2.1.5 | All other provisions of the main agreement shall be applicable to new employees. |
| 2.1.6 | The closed shop shall be applicable to all new employees. |
2.1.7
| (a) | The employee strength to determine whether or not there has been an increase in employee strength will be measured by comparing the employee strength of compliant employers whose businesses are registered with the bargaining council on the 1st June 2011, as per clause 2.1.3, and to that of the employee strength of compliant employers whose businesses are registered with the bargaining council on the 31st March 2014, i.e. a period of 30 months following the implementation of this Agreement. |
| (b) | In the event that the employee strength does not increase as per the provisions of this Agreement and more specifically, the provisions of Clause 2.1.3 above, the provisions of the new-entry wage provision will terminate. |
| (c) | Upon such termination of the application of the new entry level wage provision, the wages of all employees earning the new-entry wage will be increased to the full applicable gazetted wage for all job categories from the first pay week following the 31st August 2014, unless the parties during the 2014/2015 round of annual or other negotiations agree otherwise or agree to an alternative to address any further job losses or the absence of job growth in the industry. |
| 2.1.8 | Employers shall not embark on retrenchment exercises, where the intent of such retrenchment is to employ employees at the rates specified in subclause 2.1.3 (a) above. |
| 2.1.9 | Employers will ensure that short time arrangements are at all times fairly and equitably distributed across a workplace’s employees in all job categories affected by short time arrangements. |
| 2.1.10 | Qualified employees shall be employed at the qualified new entry rate, subject to subclause 2.1.1. |
| 2.1.11 | Effective 1st September 2011, all retrenched employees will, within a period of 12 months of having been retrenched, be given preferential employment in the same job category at the same wage rate which was applicable at the date of the employee’s retrenchment or any higher wage rate which may have been gazetted and become applicable to the affected employee’s job category after such date of retrenchment. |
(3) INCENTIVISED WAGE RATES
The “new entry wage rates” provisions as specified in clause 4(2), shall be abolished and be replaced with the following incentivised wage rate provisions, applicable to new employees only:
| 3.1 | With the coming into operation of this agreement, new employees shall be paid a guaranteed wage of no less than 80% of the normal gazetted wage rate of ALL wage categories applicable to current employees, subject to the following provisions: |
| 3.2 | New employees are those persons with no previous working experience in the industry and shall include those persons with previous work experience but who have not been employed in the industry for a minimum period of 3 years, unless the applicant employee agrees otherwise with his/her prospective employer |
| 3.3 | The guaranteed wage rate as specified in subclause 3.1 above shall be supplemented with an incentivised wage component which shall allow new employees to earn up to 100% or more of the qualified rate, provided that the employee(s) meets the required performance standards as contained in the plant level incentive scheme. This incentive shall be applicable to all new employees engaged under the incentivised wage provisions and employed after 1 September 2012, once a national framework agreement governing the incentive portion has been agreed. |
| 3.4 | The incentivised wage rate provisions are only applicable to companies which are registered with the National Bargaining Council for the Clothing Manufacturing Industry of South Africa, subject further to subclause 3.5 below. |
| 3.5 | The provisions are only applicable to those current compliant companies which were in existence and operational as at 1 June 2011. |
It is NOT applicable to those companies who:
| • | are members of an employer association which have not signed the wage agreement and/or |
| • | have not implemented the wage increases envisaged in the agreement. |
During the first year of operation of the incentivised wage provisions, the parties will engage to explore mechanisms which will protect current companies and current employees in the event of it being agreed that this provision be extended to new companies which enter the industry for the first time.
| 3.6 | All other provisions of the Industry’s Main Agreement shall be applicable to new employees. |
| 3.7 | The closed shop shall be applicable to all new employees. |
| 3.8 | Employers shall not embark on retrenchment exercises, where the intent of such retrenchment is to re-employ employees at the rates specified in subclause 3.1 above. |
| 3.9 | Employers will ensure that short time arrangements are at all times fairly and equitably distributed across a workplace’s employees in all job categories affected by short time arrangements. |
| 3.10 | Qualified employees shall be employed at the qualified rate, subject to subclause 3.2 above. |
| 3.11 | Current employees employed in terms of the new entry rate provision envisaged in the 2011/2012 party to party agreement and who were so employed prior to 1 September 2012 shall by exemption be ring-fenced on those rates plus the annual increases of 6.23%, and subject to the companies at which they are employed meeting the compliant employment growth targets as set out in the 2011/2012 wage agreement. |
| 3.12 | Effective 1st September 2012, all retrenched employees will, within a period of 12 months of having being retrenched, be given preferential employment in the same job category at the same wage rate which was applicable at the date of the employee’s retrenchment or any higher wage rate which may have been gazetted and become applicable to the affected employee’s job category after such date of retrenchment. |
| 3.13 | The parties shall negotiate a national framework agreement at National Bargaining Council level, to give enabling effects to the plant level incentivised wage component as contemplated in subclause 3.3 above. This shall be finalised within a period of 4 months with effect from 1 October 2012 (excluding the annual shutdown period). Thereafter, companies who qualify for the incentivised wage provisions and who wish to implement it shall have a 2 month period to conclude plant-level incentive arrangements in terms of the provisions of the national framework agreement. |
| 3.14 | The deadlock breaking mechanism for the national framework agreement is either binding interest arbitration or, at the end of the prescribed period, the entire 80% dispensation falls away, unless other forms of deadlock breaking mechanisms are agreed between the parties. |
| 3.15 | Should the 80% dispensation fall away in consequence of the provision in subclause 3.14 above, new employees employed on the incentive wage provisions should be paid 100% of the applicable agreed rate. |
| 3.16 | The deadlock breaking mechanism for operationalising the incentive component at plant level shall consist firstly of a facilitation process by a panel of experts jointly appointed by the employer and trade union parties to this agreement and if not resolved, by an advisory award by the panel, unless other forms of deadlock breaking mechanisms are agreed to between the parties. |
| (4) | Nothing in this part of the Agreement shall operate to unilaterally reduce the wage which was being paid to any employee at any time prior to or at the date of commencement of this part of the Agreement. |
| (5) | An employee employed as a conveyor feeder shall receive the wages prescribed for an employee of this class, plus 10 per cent. |
(6)
| (a) | Any increase in the wage to which a learner becomes entitled as a result of previous experience shall become payable on the accruing date unless the employee has been absent from work of his own accord for a period longer than seven days in the aggregate in any of the six-monthly qualifying periods provided for in this clause. The accruing date, when an increase of wage falls due to him, may be advanced to the equivalent of the number of days in excess of seven days that he has been absent from work of his own accord in any of his six-monthly qualifying periods. |
| (b) | In the case of an employee who has yearly qualifying periods, the accruing date when an increase of wages falls due to him, may be advanced to the equivalent of the number of days in excess of 14 days that he has been absent from work on his own accord in any of his yearly qualifying periods. |
| (7) | Unless otherwise stated in this part of the Agreement, the Council shall be the sole forum for the purposes of negotiating matters regulated in this part of the Agreement, inclusive of the Sick Benefit Fund Agreement and the Provident Fund Agreement, and the trade union shall not seek to improve the remuneration of employees in the Industry nor seek to re-negotiate any matters which are regulated in the aforementioned Agreements during the periods of operation of such Agreements: Provided that— |
| (a) | the trade union shall be entitled to submit demands to the employers" organisation for the sole purpose of commencing negotiations for any agreement if such agreement is intended to replace any of the aforementioned Agreements at the expiry of their respective periods of operation; and |
| (b) | notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the remuneration of employees employed at a particular establishment may be negotiated between the employer of that establishment and his employees provided any improvement thereof is specifically linked to productivity improvement. |
(8)
| (i) | This agreement shall come into operation with effect from 1 September 2011 for employers who are members of parties to the agreement, and with effect from the date of extension of the agreement in respect of non-parties. |
| (ii) | All employers covered by the registered scope of the NBC shall implement the wage increases agreed to at NBC level” and/or |
All employers covered by the registered scope of the NBC who have not implemented the wage increases agreed to at NBC level shall implement a 10% wage increase for metro areas and the rand equivalent for non-metro areas with effect from 1 September each year