The settlement will come into force from promulgation by the Minister of Labour later this year.

The negotiations were characterised by a deep understanding by all parties of the pressure under which the civil engineering sector has been operating for the last few years. The employers were represented by South African Forum of Civil Engineering Contractors (SAFCEC) and Consolidated Employers’ Organisation (CEO) and the employees by the Building Construction and Allied Workers Union (BACWU) and National Union of Mine Workers (NUM).

The parties agreed to a 7.5% wage increase across the board for the first and second year. The increase for the third year will be 7.5% or CPI , whichever is the greater.

Negotiations began in the last week of March 2018, and what is significant is that during negotiations real industry issues were dealt with.

The BCCEI is a sector specific bargaining council created in terms of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (LRA), and it responsible for overseeing the funds and benefits administration, compliance, enforcement and exemption of the various Collective Agreements concluded within the BCCEI.