What is the Laundry Bargaining Council?
The LBC has been operating for more than 50 years. It originated as an Industrial Council, but in 1995, when the labour Relations Act created a new legislative framework, It was renamed from an Industrial Council, to a Bargaining Council.
Our Legal Basis
The Laundry Cleaning and Dyeing Industry Bargaining Council (Cape) – LBC is currently one of only 44 Bargaining Councils that exist in the country. The law provides that employer and employee representative organizations within an industry or area can enter into collective agreements covering “any areas of mutual interest” and if they are sufficiently representative of the industry, the parties can approach the minister of Labour to gazette these agreements and extend them to bind non-parties as well. The collective agreement is negotiated between the parties and once signed, is normally gazetted by the Minister and applies for a stipulated period. Thereafter, all persons engaged in the industry within the demarcated area of the Bargaining Council are required to comply with the terms of the collective agreement, whether they were signatories to the agreement or not. Although the LBC is a creature of statute, it is not sponsored by the State and it is funded by levies paid equally by employers and employees. Currently, the levy is less than 42c per employee per day contributed by the employee and the same amount by the employer – i.e. a total of R0.83 per day / R25pm.