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Co-operatives Act, 2005 (Act No. 14 of 2005)

Regulations

Co-operatives Administrative Regulations, 2016

Chapter 1 : Co-operative Registration and Support

Part 1 : Co-operative Registration, Governance and Maintenance

25. Application for exemption from labour legislation in respect of employees of worker co-operatives

 

(1) Any worker co-operative bound by a collective agreement with a bargaining council or a sectoral determination in terms of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997,or other labour law requirement may apply for exemption of such requirement in terms of item 6 of Part 2 of Schedule 1 of that Act.

 

(2) All applications must be in writing and fully motivated in terms of the grounds listed in regulation 26 and sent to the office of the bargaining council for the area in which the applicant is located or to the Minister of Labour where there is no bargaining council with jurisdiction over the sector within which the co-operative operates.

 

(3) Where additional and/or outstanding information is requested in respect of an exemption application and such information is not received within a period of 90 days the applicant shall be informed that the application will lapse.

 

(4) In scrutinising an application for exemption the bargaining council or the said Minister must consider the views expressed by the co-operative and its members, together with any other representations received in relation to that application.

 

(5) The worker co-operative must consult with its members and must include the views expressed by its members in the application. Where there are differing views the reasons for the views expressed must be submitted with the application. Where an agreement between the co-operative and its members is reached, the signed written agreement must accompany the application. Alternatively a special resolution sanctioning the application for exemption by the workers co-operative must be submitted.

 

(6) The exemption must not contain terms that would have an unreasonably detrimental effect on the fair, equitable and uniform application of the labour laws in the Industry in which the worker co-operative operates or terms that would give an unfair business advantage to the co-operative in relation to other businesses in that industry.