Collective Bargaining

Legal Framework 1993 Industrial and Labour Relations Act Cap 269 of the Laws of Zambia: as Amended by Act.No.30 of 1997 & as Amended by Act. No.8 of 2008

Sect. 63: Registration of Employer Every employer employing 25 or more eligible employees, or such lesser number as may be prescribed by the Minister, shall register with the Commissioner within a period not exceeding three months from the date of coming into operation of this section or, from the date upon which this section becomes applicable to the employer as the case me be

Sect.64: Duty to Enter into Recognition Not later than three months from the date of issue of a certificate of registration, an employer and the trade union to which employees belong, shall enter into a Recognition Agreement.

Sect.3 Management A person who is the head of an institution or undertaking and has authority to hire, suspend, promote or demote an employee of the institution or undertaking;

Sect.3 Management A person who is the head of a department in an institution or undertaking and has authority in the financial, operational, human resource, security or policy matters of the institution or undertaking;

Sect.3 Management A person with decision making authority in the financial, operational, personnel or policy matters of an institution or undertaking and who represents and negotiates on behalf of the institution or undertaking in collective bargaining or negotiations with any trade union; or

Eligibility of union membership Where there is disagreement as to whether or not an employee is a member of management, either party to the disagreement may refer the matter to the Labour Commissioner for determination.

Appeal against Commissioner Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Labour Commissioner may within fourteen days of such decision, appeal to the Court.

“Bargaining Unit” (a) the mgt of the undertaking and the most representative trade union representing employees in the undertaking where collective bargaining is at the level of an undertaking, other than an industry

Management A person with written institutional authority to perform the functions referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) or (c)

“Bargaining Unit” (b) the negotiating team representing the employers organisation and the negotiating team representing the most representative trade union in the industry concerned where collective bargaining is at the level of an undertaking or industry.

“Dispute” means a disagreement on any matter pertaining to employment relationship by the parties to a Recognition Agreement or Collective Agreement

Sect.66 Collective Agreement Within 3 months from the date of registration of the Recognition Agreement the employer and the trade union shall enter into collective bargaining for the purpose of concluding and signing a collective agreement

Sect.68 Collective Agreements Every collective Agreement shall contain clauses referred to as statutory clauses, stipulating- (a) the date on which the agreement is to come into effect and the period for which it is to remain in force (b) the methods, procedures and rules for reviewing, amending, replacing or terminating the agreement

Sect.69,Obligations of the B.U The Bargaining Unit shall commence negotiations for the purpose of concluding a new collective agreement at least three months before the date of expiry of the current collective agreement

Obligations of the BU The Bargaining Unit shall notify the Labour Commissioner in writing, within fifteen days after the commencement of the negotiations, of the date on which the negotiations were commenced; and conclude and sign the agreement within three months after commencement of negotiations

Obligations of the B.U If the Bargaining Unit fails, or neglects, without reasonable cause or excuse to commence negotiations or conclude the collective agreement as per law, every member of the Bargaining Unit shall be liable upon conviction to a fine and may be prohibited from holding a position in the Bargaining Unit for a period not exceeding three months

Sect 70 Lodging of Collective Agreement The parties to a Collective Agreement shall within 14 days of signing, lodge five signed copies of the collective agreement with the Labour Commissioner

Approval of Collective Agreement The Minister may after considering the collective agreement lodged with comments from the Commissioner return it to the parties with comments or direct the Commissioner to register the Collective Agreement.

Approved Collective Agreement The Minister shall not direct the registration of a collective agreement unless he is satisfied that the clauses in the agreement do not contain anything contrary to any written law

Effective Date Every Collective Agreement which has been approved by the Minister shall come into force on the date on which it is approved or on a later date specified in the Collective Agreement