The Civil Engineering Contractor January 2019 | Page 6

POLICYMAKERS
7.5% salary increase creates industry stability
Nobody lost their marbles, nobody threw their toys out
the cot, no hissy fits, and no threats of strikes, lockouts, or
deadlock characterised the latest round of wage negotiations
in the civil engineering industry. The result was that (almost
unheralded) the industry’s Bargaining Council for the Civil
Engineering Industry (BCCEI) in late September announced
a general increase of 7.5% for each of the next two years,
followed by an increase in year three of the greater of 7.5%
or CPI.
Nick Faasen, general secretary of BCCEI, explains that the
industry struck “a good deal” with the increase, which is on a
par with most such agreements being negotiated over the past
year, “neither higher than others, nor lower”.
He says the successful signing of a substantive collective
agreement — to extend the civil engineering industry’s Wage
and Task Grade and Conditions of Employment collective
agreements for three years until the end of August 2021,
and the Registration and Administration and Construction
Industry Retirement Benefit Fund Collective Agreement
for five years to 31 August 2023 — demonstrated the value
of industry stakeholders working closely over time in a
relationship of trust.
It is due to this relationship of cooperation that the civil
engineering industry has not had a strike since 2013. “This is
not to say the negotiations were not difficult and tense. But
Nick Faasen, general secretary of the Bargaining Council for the
Civil Engineering Industry (BCCEI), says industry stakeholders
working closely eventually develops into a relationship of trust.
4 | CEC January 2019
they were conducted in an atmosphere of trust and mutual
confidence, which saw participants through what can be
a stressful process,” says Faasen. Negotiations were robust
and endured for six weeks, with many sleepless nights. The
adjustments would also affect allowances such as living-out,
cross-border, sleep-out, and night-work allowances.
Faasen explains the underlying philosophy: “Can we really
talk to one another if we cannot trust each other?” In civil
engineering, trust between parties has been cultivated over a
period of years, by means of hosting regular events at which
delegates from labour and employers hear presentations
from independent analysts and economists. He says the
BCCEI had arranged training early on in the three-year
cycle with the Council for Conciliation, Mediation and
Arbitration (CCMA), and also with the International Labour
Organisation (ILO). Faasen described the outcome of the
negotiations as ‘mature’, and paid tribute to the expertise and
constructive attitudes that the negotiators have developed in
the years leading up to the settlement agreement.
“The result of this is that everyone is hearing the same
message in the same room, as opposed to unions receiving
one scenario and employers a different message. The unions
were fully aware of the difficulties facing the industry, and
employers were fully aware of the hardships being experienced
by many families in this environment of unfortunate heavy
retrenchments, and a number of major companies being
under financial management,” says Faasen.
The engagement process between the parties was then
further facilitated by Conflict Dynamics, who provided
two facilitators to take the empowerment journey into the
negotiations.
The challenge facing future negotiations is the fact that
fewer workers are being represented by unions, and fewer
employers by employer-representative bodies. “Times are
getting tougher: people and companies want to hang on to
their every penny,” he explains.
Faasen says that the agreements were signed between the
Consolidated Employers Organisation (CEO) and South
African Forum of Civil Engineering Contractors (SAFCEC),
representing the employers, and the Building, Construction
and Allied Workers Union (BCAWU) and National Union of
Mine Workers (NUM), representing the employees.
The BCCEI is a statutory organisation registered with the
Department of Labour and covers all civil engineering firms,
from major JSE-listed firms to small contractors. “For the
next three years, there’s going to be industrial peace.” Faasen
suggests that the agreement will make it easier for contractors
to tender for projects in the confidence that their salary bill is
known, they can forecast expenses better, and they will not
face the threat of strike action while undertaking projects;
while employees will also have certainty and can budget their
lives accordingly.
The BCCEI provides the platform for the employer and
employee organisations to negotiate. Faasen emphasises that
the preparation for this work takes years, involving intensive
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