Career Advice

PART XII – COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT

Collective agreement
Subject to the provisions of this Act, a collective agreement relating to the terms and conditions of employment of workers, may be concluded between one or more trade unions on one hand and representatives of one or more employers or employers’ organizations on the other hand.

Duty to negotiate in good faith
All parties to the negotiation of a collective agreement shall negotiate in good faith and make every reasonable effort to reach an agreement.

For the purpose of subsection (1), either party to the negotiation shall make available to the other party information relevant to the subject matter of the negotiation. When any information disclosed for the purpose of the negotiation of a collective agreement is not make public, the information shall be treated as confidential by the party receiving the information and shall not be disclosed to a third party without the prior written consent of the party providing the information. The parties to the negotiation of a collective agreement shall not make false or fraudulent misrepresentations as regards matters relevant to the negotiations.

Contents of collective agreement
Without prejudice to the other provisions of this Act and subject to any agreement between the parties, a collective agreement may include provisions on the following matters:

• the class or category of workers to which it relates;
• the conditions of work, including the hours of work, rest period, meal breaks, annual leave, occupational health and safety measures;
• the remuneration and the method of calculating the remuneration of the workers;
• the period of probation and conditions of probation;
• the period of notice of termination of employment, transfer and discipline;
• the procedures for the avoidance and settlement of disputes arising out of the interpretation, application and administration of the agreement;
• the principles for matching remuneration with productivity; and
• the essential services within the establishment

Collective bargaining certificate
A trade union shall make an application to the Chief Labour Officer for a certificate appointing that trade union as the appropriate representative to conduct negotiations on behalf of the class of workers specified in the collective bargaining certificate with the employers of the workers. An  application made under subsection (1) shall include

• the description of the class of workers in respect of whom the application is made and their estimated number; and
• the number of workers of that class who are members of the trade union by whom the application is made.       

The class of workers may be specified in a certificate issued under this section by reference to the employer of the workers or to the occupation of the workers or in any other manner sufficient to identify them.

• The Chief Labour Officer shall subject to regulations made by the Minister, determine which union shall hold a collective bargaining certificate for the class of workers in a situation where there is more than one trade union at the work place.
• A collective bargaining certificate will be issued to a union for the same class of workers at a particular time.
• A certificate issued under this section shall be have effect notwithstanding that some of the workers of the class specified are not members of the trade union appointed under the certificate.
• A certificate issued under this section shall be published in the Gazette by the Chief Labour Officer.   
• At any time after the issue of a certificate under this section, the Chief Labour Officer may
• at the request of either the trade union or employer’s organization; and
• after consultation with the trade union or employers’ organization, withdraw the certificate without affecting the right f the trade union to apply for a fresh certificate under this section.
• A trade union which is dissatisfied or aggrieved with a decision of the Chief Labour Officer under Parts XI or XII of this Act may apply to the National Labour Commission for redress.

Variation of certificate
At any time after the issue of a certificate under section 99 the Chief Labour Officer may, after consultation with the trade union named in the certificate and the appropriate employers’ organization, issue an amending certificate varying the class of workers specified in the certificate and any reference in this Act to a certificate issued under section 99 shall be deemed to include such a certificate as amended under this section.
The issuance of an amending certificate shall not affect the membership of a standing negotiating committee or a joint standing negotiating committee appointed under section but the employer or workers of the class specified in the certificate as varied by the amending certificate, may nominate representatives to act either in the place of or together with their existing representatives.
When an amending certificate is issued, the chief Labour Officer shall cause a copy of the amending certificate to be published in the Gazette.
When an amending certificate is issued, extending the class of workers specified in the original certificate, and there is in force a collective agreement which applies to all workers of the class specified in the original certificate, the trade union named in the certificate shall take such steps as appear to it to be appropriate for bringing that agreement to the attention of all the workers to whom the agreement is extended by the amending certificate.
When an amending certificate is issued excluding any persons from the class of workers specified in the original certificate, and there is in force a collective agreement which applied to those persons, the amending certificate shall not affect that application of the agreement to them, or any right to vary it, but a collective agreement made after the issue of the amending certificate by another trade union shall have effect notwithstanding anything in the previous agreement.




Negotiating committees
101.(1)  The trade union appointed in a certificate issued under section 99 and the employer of the workers of the class to which the certificate relates shall each nominate their representatives authorized to conduct negotiations on their behalf, and the representatives shall constitute a standing negotiating committee to negotiate on matters referred to it.
    (2)  A standing negotiating committee referred to in subsection (1) shall make rules governing its procedure.
    (3)  A standing negotiating committee or joint standing negotiating committee set up under this section shall have the power to appoint sub-committees to which it may delegate any of its functions under this Act.

Negotiations by negotiating committee or joint negotiating committee
102.(1)  Negotiations on all matters connected with the employment or non-employment or with the terms of employment or with the conditions of employment of any of the workers of the class specified in a certificate issued under section 99, shall be conducted through the standing negotiating committee or the joint standing negotiating committee as the case may be.
    (2)  Either party represented on the committee may give notice to the other party requiring them to enter into negotiations on any matters which may properly be dealt with by the committee.
    (3)  An agreement concluded between the parties shall be in writing and signed by a duly authorized member of the committee representing each party and two copies of the agreement shall be deposited with the Commission and the Chief Labour Officer.

Negotiations may be conducted by a union officer or member
103.(1)  Without prejudice to section 101, an officer or a member of a trade union who is duly appointed by his or her trade union, may conduct negotiations on any matter connected with the employment or non-employment or terms of employment or conditions of employment of any worker who belongs to the class of workers specified in the certificate.
    (2)  A person conducting negotiations under this section may give notice to the parties requiring them to enter into negotiations on any matters which may be properly dealt with by the person and it shall be the duty of both parties to make every reasonable effort to come to an agreement on the matters to which the notice relates.
    (3)  An agreement concluded between the parties shall be in writing and signed by the person conducting the negotiations.
    (4)  Rules made under subsection (2) of section 101 may be applicable to negotiations conducted under this section and to other matters relating to such negotiations.

Failure to negotiate
104.If the party on whom a notice is served under subsection (2) of section 102 or subsection (2) of section 103, does not within fourteen days after service of the notice take any steps to enter into negotiations, the Commission shall direct the party to enter into negotiations immediately, and the party shall comply with the directive.



Effect of collective agreement
105.(1)  An agreement concluded by a trade union through a standing negotiating committee or a joint standing negotiating committee shall, so far as the terms of the agreement permit, apply to all workers of the class specified in the certificate.
       (2)  The provisions of a collective agreement concerning the terms of employment and termination of employment, and personal obligations imposed on, and rights granted to, a worker or employer shall be regarded as terms of a contract of employment between each worker to whom the provisions apply and his or her employer.
       (3)  Any provisions that have effect as terms of a contract of employment under subsection (2), shall continue to have effect after the expiration of the collective agreement, so long as they have not been varied by agreement of the parties or in pursuance of this Act.
       (4)  The rights conferred on a worker by a collective agreement shall not be waived by the worker and, if there is any conflict between the terms of a collective agreement and the terms of any contract not contained in the collective agreement, the collective agreement shall prevail unless the terms of the contract are more favourable to the worker; and it is immaterial whether or not the contract was concluded before the collective agreement.
       (5)  The withdrawal of a certificate appointing a trade union under subsection (8) of section 99 shall not affect the validity of a collective agreement made by the trade union before the certificate was withdrawn, but any collective agreement which is made by another trade union after the withdrawal of the certificate shall have effect notwithstanding anything in the previous agreement.

Notice of collective agreement to workers
106.  The parties to the negotiations shall bring the terms of the concluded collective agreement to the notice of all the workers concerned.

Duration of collective agreements
107.  (1)  Every collective agreement concluded under section 103 shall be for a term of at least one year.
      (2)  A party to a collective agreement shall not give notice under section 102 requiring the other party to negotiate with respect to ay matter governed by a collective agreement unless, as the time when the notice is served, that agreement is due, either as a result of the notice given under this section or otherwise, to expire within twenty-eight days after the service of the notice.
      (3)  Where no notice is given under subsection  (2) by either party within thirty days after the expiration of the collective agreement, the collective agreement shall be deemed to have continued in force until rescinded by the parties.





Provision for dispute settlement
108.Every collective agreement shall contain a provision for final and conclusive settlement under Part XVIII of this Act of all differences between the persons to whom the agreement applies.

Power to extend collective agreements
109. (1)  Where it appears to the Chief Labour Officer that
(a)all or any of the terms of a collective agreement are suitable for application to a class of workers who are engaged in the same kind of work, or who work in the same area, as the workers to whom the collective agreement applies; and
(b)that the parties who concluded the agreement were sufficiently representative of the workers to whom the agreement is to apply and their employers,
the Chief Labour Officer may direct that those terms of the collective agreement shall apply in relation to that class of workers and their employers as they apply in relation to workers of the class specified in the certificate and their employers.
     (2)  The Chief Labour Officer shall not issue any directive under sub-section (1) unless, three months before issuing the directive, the Chief Labour Officer has, after consultation with the appropriate employers’ organizations and the trade unions concerned, published in the Gazette, a notice
(a)describing the class of workers to whom it is proposed to apply the agreement, setting out the text of the collective agreement; and
(b)giving particulars of the manner in which and time within which objections to the proposal may be submitted to the Chief Labour Officer.
(3)  the Chief Labour Officer shall take appropriate steps to bring the contents of the notice to the attention of employers and workers affected by the proposals.
(4)  The Chief Labour Officer shall not issue any directive under sub-section (1) applying the terms of an agreement to workers who were not in the class described in the notice given under subsection (2).
(5)  Where a collective agreement, the terms of which are applied by any directive issued under subsection (1) ceases to have effect, the directive shall cease to have effect on the same date.

Effect of extension of collective agreements
110.  (1)  Any directive issued under section 109 that extends the provisions of a collective agreement on terms of employment and termination of employment, and personal obligations imposed on, and rights granted to, a worker, shall be regarded as terms of a contract of employment between each worker to whom those provisions apply and his or her employer.
       (2)  The terms of a contract of employment under subsection (1) shall continue to have effect after the directive ceases to have effect so long as those provisions have not been varied by agreement between the parties or in pursuance of this Act.
       (3)  The rights conferred on a worker by any directive issued under section 109 shall not be waived by the worker and, if there is any conflict between the term extended by the directive and the terms of any contract, the directive shall prevail, unless the terms of the contract are more favourable to the worker.

Union dues
111.  (1)  A trade union to which this section applies may issue to the employer of any workers who are members of that trade union, a notice in the form in Schedule II to this Act requesting the employer
(a)    to deduct from the wages of his or her workers covered by a certificate issued under section 99, the sums specified by the trade union; and
(b)    to pay over the sums deducted as may be directed by the trade union, and, subject to this section, the employer shall comply with the notice.
       (2)  A trade union to which this section applies may, on issuing a notice in the form in Schedule II to this Act or subsequently, issue a further notice requesting the employer, out of the amount which the employer is to pay over to the trade union, to remit a proportion stated in the notice directly to a specified branch of the trade union.
       (3)  A sum deducted in accordance with a notice given under this section shall be in discharge of the liability of the respective member of the trade union to pay dues to that trade union.
       (4)  a sum which an employer has in accordance with a notice under this section deducted from the wages of a worker to the trade union shall be paid over not more than one month after the date on which the wages are paid, and the trade union may sue in its own name for any sum which ought to have been paid to the trade union