Extension of the KwaZulu-Natal Furniture Industry Agreement to Non-Parties
Employers in KwaZulu-Natal’s furniture manufacturing sector should take note of an important change to the industry’s collective bargaining framework. On 6 November 2026, the Minister of Employment and Labour, Nomakhosazana Meth, published Government Notice R. 8150 in Government Gazette 55680, extending the Main Collective Amending Agreement concluded in the Bargaining Council for the Furniture Manufacturing Industry KwaZulu-Natal (BCFMI) to employers and employees who were not parties to the agreement.
The amending agreement becomes binding on non-parties from Monday 16 November 2026, and will remain in force until 30 June 2027, unless it is replaced, cancelled or extended in accordance with the Labour Relations Act (LRA).
The agreement was concluded between the KwaZulu-Natal Furniture Manufacturers’ Association and the National Union of Furniture and Allied Workers of South Africa. Before the extension, it was already binding on the parties to the council under Section 31 of the LRA. The Minister’s notice removes the distinction, for compliance purposes, between parties and non-parties operating within the agreement’s scope.
Who is affected?
The amending agreement applies to the furniture, bedding, upholstery and curtain manufacturing industry in specified parts of KwaZulu-Natal. These include the districts of eThekwini, uMgungundlovu and uThukela, the municipal area of KwaDukuza (also referred to as iLembe or Lower Tugela), the municipal area of Mandeni (also referred to as Isithebe), and Mount Currie. Part 2, Annexure A is more narrowly stated to apply to eThekwini, uMgungundlovu, uThukela and Mount Currie.
The industry definition is broad. It encompasses the manufacture, assembly, repair, finishing and installation of furniture and furniture components, as well as bedding, mattresses, upholstery, curtains, cane furniture and certain wood-based ancillary products. It also includes activities such as the manufacture and installation of kitchen cupboards, built-in cabinets, counters, shelving, doors, door frames, windows and window frames where these fall within the agreement’s definition. Furniture manufactured wholly from plastic, and metal furniture or metal bedsteads, are expressly excluded.
The agreement generally applies only to employees for whom minimum wages are prescribed. Professional, technical, administrative, sales, and office staff are excluded where they earn more than the maximum Annexure A rate plus R35. Managers, sub-managers, foremen and supervisory employees are also excluded if they earn at least R132,870.44 per annum, or R156,312.93 per annum where the employer does not provide both a registered retirement fund and a registered medical aid fund. These thresholds are intended to increase in line with increases awarded to employees on the highest Annexure A rate.
What has changed from the previous agreement?
The new agreement expressly amends the Main Collective Agreement extended under Government Notice R. 6458 of 29 July 2025. That earlier notice also extended the principal agreement to non-parties until 30 June 2027. It followed the cancellation of several earlier notices, including R. 427 of 2019, R. 411 of 2021, R. 1778 of 2023, R. 3666 of 2023 and R. 5680 of 2024.
A significant amendment is the reformulation of the agreement’s geographical scope. The 2025 agreement referred to older magisterial areas such as Camperdown, Chatsworth, Durban, Inanda, Pietermaritzburg and Pinetown, together with KwaDukuza, Mount Currie and Mandeni. The amending agreement now uses the broader district descriptions of eThekwini, uMgungundlovu and uThukela while retaining KwaDukuza, Mandeni and Mount Currie. This modernises the territorial description and may bring establishments within the agreement based on current district boundaries rather than the former magisterial area formulation.
The amendments also introduce a structured five-phase concession for qualifying micro-employers. It applies to an employer conducting no more than one business within the scope of Part 2, Annexure A and employing fewer than five employees at all times, provided that the affected employees consent in writing on the prescribed form. The concession begins with compliance at the national minimum wage level and limited holiday pay. Holiday fund obligations are progressively introduced, followed by provident fund and mortality benefit contributions, with full compliance with the applicable collective agreements required from the sixth year onwards. An employer may not qualify by reducing its workforce from more than four employees after the agreement takes effect.
A separate two-year phasing-in arrangement for new employees in existing establishments has also been introduced for qualifying employees falling under Part 2, Schedule A, but outside of Annexures B and C. During the phase-in period, the employee is exempted from provident fund participation, receives 16 days’ leave pay directly, and attracts limited mortality benefit contributions. Full compliance with the holiday fund, provident fund, and Natal Furniture Workers’ Sick Benefit Society agreements is required from the third year.
Practical Impact on Stakeholders
For non-party employers, the extension means that non-membership of the employers’ association is no longer a basis for avoiding the agreement. Employers should immediately confirm whether their operations and employees fall within the revised geographical and industry definitions, review wage and benefit arrangements, and check their registration and contribution obligations. Micro-employers wishing to rely on the phasing-in concession must ensure that all eligibility requirements are met and that employee consent is properly recorded.
While employees gain enforceable minimum protections and access to the applicable industry benefit structures, those joining qualifying existing establishments may temporarily receive reduced fund participation under the new-employee concession. Unions and employee representatives should therefore monitor how employers classify establishments and calculate the applicable phase.
For the BCFMI, the extension promotes uniform conditions and reduces the risk of non-party businesses competing through lower labour standards. The immediate compliance priority for affected businesses is to conduct a site, employee category, and benefit fund audit against the amended agreement from 16 November 2026, keeping in mind that its present period of operation ends on 30 June 2027.
View The BCFMI KZN Extension to Non-Parties of the Main Amending Agreement 2026 – 2027 Here.
