The Bargaining Council for the Civil Engineering Industry (BCCEI) has set the end of February as the deadline for all employer organisations, representative trade unions and non-members to submit their wage proposals for the 2015 wage negotiation process.

Nick Faasen, BCCEI General Secretary, says he will be embarking on a countrywide road show in January and February 2015 to address all stakeholders, and urges anyone with any queries to contact him direct at the BCCEI’s Bedfordview head office.

The Pre-Bargaining Conference

Faasen explains that a Pre-Bargaining Conference between employer organisations and trade unions will be held at the end of January 2015.
In addition, all parties must have submitted their wage proposals or demands to the Council by no later than the end of February.

“Any proposals received after this date cannot be accommodated due to the strict protocols and time frame involved in terms of our adherence to the LRA,” explains Faasen.

“Parties must also be cognisant of the fact that not all proposals submitted will necessarily fly, as a lot of things will fall off the table during this process,” he adds.

The councils annual AGM

The Council’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), where all parties will table their negotiating teams, will take place in March. Depending on the schedule agreed upon, Faasen will then arrange meetings between all the parties.

“We are in the process of recruiting an experienced facilitator in this regard. I will oversee the negotiations process right up to the point where the final tabled agreement is submitted to the Minister. I need to stress that I remain entirely impartial and do not become involved in the negotiations at all,” Faasen says.

Final agreement

It is anticipated that the final agreement will be submitted to Labour Minister Mildred Nelisiwe Oliphant by June 2015. The Minister then has 60 days to consider, approve and promulgate the agreement, plus an additional 21 days for public opinion.

Faasen is confident that the 2015 wage negotiation process will go off smoothly. “We have an unprecedented opportunity to showcase what a duly representative, fully functional and passionately dedicated Bargaining Council can do to effect massive change in its industry.”