National Employment Council for the Construction Industry

1st Floor Barbara House

Cnr. Nelson Mandela Avenue and Leopold Takawira Avenue

P O Box 2995

Harare

Tel: 773944 - 63

The Collective Bargaining Agreement: Construction Industry is set out in Statutory Instrument 244 of 1999 and is registered in terms of Section 79 of the Labour Relations Act (Chapter 28:01).

These notes are prepared for guidance only.  They do not include changes that may have occurred since they were written.  They bring out salient features from the Collective Bargaining Agreement to give a broad understanding of the agreement.  The emphasis has been to highlight areas of particular payroll or Human Resource processing significance.  To obtain a detailed and comprehensive understanding refer to the full text of the Agreement.  The agreement is binding on all employers and employees engaged in the construction industry.

Employer Declaration

Any person proposing to become an employer in the construction Industry shall, prior to commencing operations, render a declaration to the council, containing the particulars set out in the form prescribed in Annexure 6.

Employee Enrolment

Every person, whether a working employer or employee, performing work in the construction industry shall apply for enrollment to the secretary using the form set out in Annexure 7 and be issued a certificate.  This certificate should be available for production, on request.  No employer shall employ a person who has not applied for a worker's certificate or who is unable to produce it.

Records of Service

Every employer should prepare for each of his employee a record of service, in the form set out in Annexure 8.  This record should be held by the employer and be brought up to date and handed to the employee on termination of service.

Council Dues

Remittances should be paid by the employer and received by council within 10 days of the after the pay day for the period to which they relate.  The details of the remittance shall be recorded on a form prescribed by Council.

General Fund

Every employer and employee in the industry shall make contributions, in equal amounts, to the General Fund.   The contribution amount for skilled workers and for graded workers is set out from time to time.  A separate contribution amount is stipulated for a self-employed person or working employer, or partner, or a director, who has been registered by council as a working employer.  Likewise there is a stipulated amount to be paid if there are no current employees being employed by the organization.

Pension and Medical Funds

The employer shall add the amounts specified for pension fund and/ or medical fund in terms of those current benefit agreements.

Trade Union

Employees that agree to have trade union contributions deducted using the check-off system shall complete, and shall sign and have duly witnessed, a stop-order, in a form prescribed by council, authorizing his employer to deduct that amount of fees to the trade union.

The amount of the contribution shall be notified to all employers from time to time by the secretary of council.

Availability of Agreement

Every employer shall make available in a place easily accessible to all persons in his employment, a copy of this agreement all amendments thereto.

Official notices and Notice Board

Where an employer has a notice board it should be not less than one square metre in size and located in a conspicuous place, accessible to all persons in his employment.  It should be so constructed and secured, protected and if necessary illuminated, as to ensure the safe keeping and legibility of notices placed thereon.  Such board shall be deemed to be an official notice board and all notices placed thereon by the employer or by the workers' committee shall constitute official and sufficient notification to the employees.

The notice board should show:

Employment Agreements

An employer shall, in writing, inform every employee upon engagement, of the nature of his contract, including:

Hours of work and day-off

Ordinary hours shall not exceed 44 hours per week worked between 7:00am and 5:00pm with nine hours worked on Monday to Thursday and eight on a Friday.

All employees should be allowed a 15 minute bread mid morning each day, with pay, and a mid-day break of at least 30 minutes without pay.

An employee shall not require an employee to work more than 12 hours in any period of 24 hours not more than 72 hours in any period of 7 days.  No employee shall be required to work for a continuous period of 4 hours without a break of 15 minutes without loss of pay.

Every employee shall receive at least one day off duty each week.  No employee shall be required to work on his day off except in emergencies and no employee shall be permitted to work on his day-off in successive weeks.

Overtime

Overtime means any work done in excess of 44 hours per week.  Overtime shall be by mutual agreement except in cases of emergency, on essential services or abnormal circumstances.

Overtime shall be paid at 1.5 times the current hourly rate for overtime worked Monday to Friday for time worked exceeding 45 hours but less than 60 hours.  If the overtime is worked between midnight on Friday and 7:30am on Sunday the time is paid at 1.5 times the current hourly rate regardless of whether the employee has completed 44 hours within that week.

Overtime shall be paid at 2.0 times the current hourly rate for overtime worked between 7:30am on Sunday and 7:30am on Monday.

Shift-Work

An employer may require employees to work shift work having given the employee 5 working days notice.

The ordinary hours shall be 44 hours per week.  The shifts shall not exceed 9 hours where 2 shifts are worked in 24 hours.  The shifts shall not exceed 8 hours where 3 shifts are worked in 24 hours.  Such shifts shall be worked as 5 consecutive shifts.

A shift worker whose total hours of work does not exceed 10 hours per shift shall be granted a break of at least 10 minutes duration approximately midway through the shift .  If the shift exceeds 10 hours then 2 breaks of 10 minutes shall be given, the first approximately one third of the way through the shift and the second break approximately two thirds of the way through the shift.  The employee shall be paid for such breaks.

Safety and protective clothing and appliances

Every employee shall provide, free of charge, to each of his employees suitable safety and protective clothing and appliances appropriate to the trade or occupation of the employee concerned.  All construction site workers shall be provided with hard hats free of charge.  The employee shall be obliged to use the safety and protective clothing or appliances supplied.  The items shall remain the property of the employer but the care and maintenance thereof shall be the responsibility of the employee.

Working Clothing

Employees engaged in listed trades and occupations, except clerical workers, shall be entitled, upon successful completion of their probationary periods, to receive free of charge a set of overall of the boiler-suit, work-suit or dust-coat types.  Employees shall be responsible for the care and maintenance of such clothing and be given a bar of soap per month, or equivalent value to the cost of the bar for laundering.  The employee shall then be entitled to replacement of the working clothing every 6 months.  On termination of employment the working clothing should be returned to the employer.

Guards and Watchmen

A shift for guards and watchmen shall be 12 hours for 5 consecutive shifts in any 7 days.  These shall be paid at ordinary rate.

Code of Conduct

The code of Conduct and grievance procedure set out in Annexure 11 shall be observed by all employers and employees.

Termination of employment

Those in:

Skilled Workers Tool Allowance

A skilled worker undertaking construction industry type work shall provide for his own use such tools as are prescribed.  The skilled worker shall be paid a tool allowance in accordance with the nature of work being done at rates specified.

Vacation leave and Annual Shutdown

The Labour Act specifies that an employee shall receive 30 calendar days annual leave.  NEC specify 1.6666 working days per annum which is equivalent.  The employee shall be entitled to receive the value of leave before proceeding on leave.  The value of Cash in Lieu of leave is calculated at 8.8 times the hourly rate per day.

The Agreement specifies that an annual shutdown should be a period of not less than 23 consecutive days away, that is to say 15 working days, commencing at midnight on the Friday preceding Christmas to be decided by Council.  Employees shall go on leave for the entire period of the shut-down.  If the accrued leave is insufficient to cover the period of the shutdown he shall be given unpaid leave for the balance of such period.

Industrial Holidays

Employees should receive leave of absence and paid the current daily wage for every industrial holiday.  Those working on an industrial holiday receive 3 times the current hourly rate.  If an employee is absent from work without the consent of his employer on the nearest working day preceding or following an industrial holiday, he shall forfeit all rights to payment for the industrial holiday, unless he produces a medical certificate stating that he was too ill to attend work on one or both of the days in question.

Grading

All employees should be graded according to the class of skill or work or grade of work listed in Schedule A of the Agreement.

Wages

Minimum hourly rates are prescribed for each grade in Schedule B of the Agreement.  Employers shall maintain a time and wages record in a form acceptable to Council.  Wages shall be paid no later than 5 working days after the end of the working week to which the wages or other remuneration relates, unless due to special circumstances prior agreement has been made with employees.

Wages on termination

Wages or remuneration due shall be paid in a sealed envelope with a payslip, explaining the breakdown of the amount (as detailed in Annexure 3 of the Agreement) no later than the working day following termination, unless there has been a summary dismissal in which case payment may be made within 3 working days.

Deductions from Wages

The employer is limited in making deductions from an employees wages or remuneration to:

Rain Stoppage

If rain or site conditions prevent work then the employee shall be paid a minimum of 3 hours for attendance for the first day and 2 hours for each subsequent day if no notice has been given to the employee.  No payment is required if notice has been given.  If conditions prevent work during the course of the day then the employee is entitled to the hours worked plus 1 hour.  The same shall apply in cases where there is no work for the employee to do due to circumstances beyond the employer's control.

In all cases, by mutual agreement, the time lost may be made up.  Such make up of time shall not be unreasonably be withheld by the employer.

Transport allowance

No transport allowance is due to an employee travelling to a site within 16km radius of the designated post office.  For sites more than 16km but less than 45km away then the employer shall either:

Subsistence Allowance

An employer may require an employee to live on site for periods of less than 4 weeks.  In these instances the employer shall provide:

For periods above 4 weeks, or distances above 45km refer to the Agreement.

Workers Committees and Works Council

Refer to the Agreement.