Electrical Industry Collective Bargaining Levy Agreement Extended to Non-Parties
The Minister of Employment and Labour has extended the Collective Bargaining Levy Agreement concluded in the National Bargaining Council for the Electrical Industry of South Africa to non-party employers and employees. Published in Government Gazette 55542 on 16 October 2026, the extension takes effect on 26 October 2026 and will remain binding for three years.
Who does the agreement cover?
The agreement applies to employers and employees engaged in the electrical industry throughout South Africa, except within a 20-kilometre radius of the General Post Office in Kimberley. It also applies to apprentices and learners to the extent that its provisions are consistent with the Skills Development Act and applicable training conditions.
Working employers, managerial employees, and administrative staff who are not electrical workers are excluded. The agreement is therefore principally directed at employees performing scheduled electrical-industry activities and the employers who employ them.
The extension means that the agreement now binds employers and employees within its scope even if they are not members of the Electrical Contractors’ Association (South Africa) or the South African Equity Workers’ Association, which concluded the agreement. However, payment of a levy does not require a non-party employer or employee to join either organisation.
Main Implications
Employers must deduct a weekly collective bargaining levy of R20.77 from the wages of scheduled employees who are not members of a trade union that is party to the Council. The levy may be adjusted when the party trade union changes its subscriptions, but it may never exceed the applicable party-union subscription. A conscientious objector may request that the amount deducted be paid into a fund administered by the Department of Employment and Labour.
In addition, each non-party employer must pay the Council a collective bargaining levy of R15.97 per scheduled employee per week. This employer levy may be adjusted in line with changes to the party employer organisation’s subscriptions, but may not exceed that organisation’s labour levy. The employer contribution is an employer cost and may not simply be transferred to employees.
Of the levy revenue collected, R4.50 per employee per week is allocated to the Training Fund, unless subsequently amended by resolution of the parties during the agreement’s term. Eligible employers, employees, and stakeholders participating in the Council’s collective-bargaining activities may qualify for training subsidies.
Employers must pay the required contributions and submit the prescribed levy return to the relevant regional office of the Council by no later than the 15th day of each month for the preceding month. A return must be submitted even where no amount is payable. For levy purposes, a week generally means at least three shifts worked from Monday to Friday.
The Council may investigate non-compliance, issue compliance orders, and refer unresolved matters to arbitration. An arbitrator may order payment of outstanding amounts, interest, costs, and a prescribed arbitration fee, and may impose a fine for non-compliance. Awards may also be enforced through the Labour Court or by writ of execution.
Employers or employees who cannot comply may apply for exemption in writing. The application must identify the provisions concerned, give reasons, and show that affected employees and representatives were consulted. Appeals against refused or withdrawn exemptions must be lodged within 30 days.
What has changed from the previous agreement?
The previous extended agreement operated for a three-year period and prescribed phased employee levies of R11.25 per week in 2020, R12.50 in 2021, and R13.75 in 2022. It initially prescribed an employer levy of R10.83 per scheduled employee per week, subject to annual adjustments linked to the employer organisation’s labour levy. The Training Fund allocation increased from R2.25 to R2.75 per employee per week over that agreement’s term.
The new agreement replaces those phased amounts with current levies of R20.77 for affected non-union employees and R15.97 per scheduled employee per week for non-party employers. It also increases the specified Training Fund contribution to R4.50 per employee per week. Another notable change is the replacement of the former Area A-to-O geographical classifications with a three-tier municipal system linked to the wage structure in the Council’s Main Collective Agreement.
Next Steps for Employers
Employers in the electrical industry should review their Council registration, employee classifications, payroll deductions, monthly levy payments, and returns before the extension takes effect.
View the NBCEI-Extension-to-Non-Parties-of-the-Bargaining-Council-Levy-Main-Agreement-2026 Here.
