Section 27 of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (LRA) provides for the establishment of a Bargaining Council by one or more registered Employer’s Organisations and one or more Registered Trade Unions for a sector and area. The bargaining council for the retail motor sector is called the Motor Industry Bargaining Council or commonly known as MIBCO.

One of the powers of a Registered Bargaining Council, as per the LRA, is to “Prevent and Resolve Labour Disputes”. This would mean that a Bargaining Council must establish a mechanism to take care of these functions. The Dispute Resolution Centre (DRC) is therefore the mechanism created to provide a platform within the Motor Industry where disputes can be resolved.

The DRC is accredited by the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to resolve most types of labour disputes. All statutory disputes; unfair dismissal and unfair labour practice disputes within the Motor Industry must be referred to the DRC for Conciliation and, if still unresolved, for Arbitration.

Disputes that cannot be referred to the DRC for Arbitration after Conciliation include:
1. Unfair Retrenchments (if more than one employee is retrenched)
2. Unfair Discrimination Disputes
3. Disputes concerning Sexual Harassment
4. All Automatically Unfair Dismissals

Disputes concerning the dismissal of a learner with whom a Learnership Agreement was concluded prior to his/her employment with an employer falls under the Skills Development Act 97 of 1998 (SDA), and must be referred to the CCMA for both Conciliation and Arbitration.

Timelines
The DRC utilises the timelines provided by the LRA for the referral of disputes.

Disputes concerning an:
1. Unfair Labour Practice (ULP) must be referred for Conciliation within 90 days of the occurrence;
2. Dismissal must be referred for Conciliation within 30 days from the date of dismissal;
3. Dismissals relating to probation must be referred for a Conciliation and Arbitration will follow immediately thereafter.

In the event that conciliation in not successful and the dispute is not resolved, an employee will have 90 days to refer the dispute for arbitration.

MISA members receive (at no additional cost):
• Full assistance with the referral of disputes to the appropriate forum;
• Representation at conciliation and arbitration level;
• Representation at labour court by a nominated attorney

It is important to contact MISA as soon as possible after the occurrence of an Unfair Dismissal or Unfair Labour Practice so that all disputes can be referred within the prescribed time frames. All cases are evaluated on merits.

And always remember that MISA is just a phone call away.

Article by Dylan van Wyk of MISA’s Legal Department.

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