CARGO CLEARANCE AND FORWARDING AGENTS’ (BURDNARA) EMPLOYEES WAGES COUNCIL WAGE REGULATION ORDER (burdnara)

WAGE REGULATION

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 452.41

CARGO CLEARANCE AND FORWARDING

AGENTS’ (BURDNARA) EMPLOYEES

WAGES COUNCIL WAGE REGULATION ORDER

19th April, 1976

LEGAL NOTICE 45 of 1976, as amended by Legal Notices 95 of 1976,

102 of 1977, 6, 129 of 1978, 427 of 2007, 128 of 2010, 362 of 2012, 334,

444 of 2013, 482 of 2014, 5 of 2016, 97 and 383 of 2017 104 and 351 of

2019, 469 of 2020, 464 of 2021, 335 of 2022, 286 of 2023, 341 of 2024 and

288 of 2025.

The title of this Order is the Cargo Clearance and

Forwarding Agents (Burdnara) Employees Wages Council Wage

Regulation Order.

1. In this Schedule unless the context otherwise requires -

"burdnar" means any person whose business is or includes all or

any of the following -

(a) the clearing through the Customs Department of

documents relating to cargo;

(b) the withdrawal of cargo from any customs shed,

bonded store, warehouse, verandah, quay or other

place of deposit and the transport of such cargo

therefrom to a place of consignment;

(c) the withdrawal of cargo from any factory, warehouse

or other premises and the transport of such cargo

therefrom to a quay or other place of deposit for

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shipment;

"customary holidays" means the days, other than Sundays,

declared to be public holidays by or under the National Holidays

and other Public Holidays Act

"day" means a period of twenty-four consecutive hours starting

from midnight of one day to midnight of the day immediately

following;

"employee of a burdnar" means any employee who performs

work which is usually done by an employee of a burdnar duly

issued with a licence by the Comptroller of Customs in terms of the

Cargo Clearance and Transport Act, irrespective of whether or not

the employer requires such a licence for the exercise of his trade;

"half a day" means a period of four and a half consecutive hours;

"one and a half times" and "double time" mean respectively one

and a half times and double the actual time rate payable to the

employee;.

"part-time employee" means an employee whose normal hours of

work, calculated on a weekly basis or on average over a period of

employment of up to one year, are less than the normal hours of

work of a comparable whole-time employee and who is not a

whole-time employee with reduced hours;

"transport employee" means any employee who performs work

which is usually done by an employee in any undertaking engaged

wholly or mainly in the clearance, haulage, and transport of

furniture and other household effects, and other goods or materials;

"wages" means remuneration or earnings paid by an employer to

an employee;

"week" means a calendar week;

"whole-time employee" means an employee who is deemed to be

a whole-time employee in terms of any recognized conditions of

employment.

2. (1) The minimum wage to be paid to full-time employee of

a burdnar shall be two hundred and thirty eight euro and forty one cents

(€238.41) a week of not more than forty hours of work based on five

days from Monday to Friday and the minimum wage of a whole - time

transport employee shall be two hundred and thirty eight euro and forty

one cents (€238.41) a week of not more than forty hours a week.

(2) In this paragraph "hours or work" does not include

intervals for meals and rest in accordance with the provisions of

paragraph 6.

(3) The hours of work and rates of pay of whole-time

employees of cargo clearance and forwarding agents and of

transport employees shall be those determined in accordance with

the provisions of sub-paragraph (1).

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The provisions set out in the Schedule shall apply to all

employees in respect of whom the Cargo Clearance and Forwarding

Agents (Burdnara) Employees Wages Council operates.

The minimum remuneration payable to part-time

employees shall not be less than five euro and ninety six cents (€5.96)

per hour so however that when a part-time employee works for not

less than four hours in any one day he shall be entitled to one whole

day’s pay, namely to one-fifth of the weekly wage due from time to

time to whole-time employees

Provided that such minimum hourly remuneration shall be

increased to one-fortieth part of any increase granted by the

Government to its whole-time employees and applicable to all other

whole-time employees in terms of the provisions of the

Employment and Industrial Relations Act.

Whole-time employees shall be entitled to the payment of

overtime as follows

(a) for all time worked on Sundays and customary

holidays ................................................... double time

(b) with the exception of any overtime payable in terms of

the preceding sub-paragraph for all time worked in

excess of a full-time employee’s normal working hours

each day ............................................. time and a half.

An employee shall be entitled to the minimum rates

payable to him for all time during which he is present on the

premises of the employer or in any other place in connection with

his employment unless he is present thereon in any of the following

circumstances

(a) without the employer’s consent expressed or implied;

(b) for some purpose unconnected with his work and other

than that of waiting for work to be given to him to

perform;

(c) by reason only of the fact that he is resident thereon;

(d) during recognised breaks for meals and rest and he is

not waiting for work to be given to him to perform.

Whole-time employees shall be entitled to intervals for

meals and rest of one hour in the aggregate on any day to be taken

at times determined by the employer in agreement with the

employee taking into account the exigencies of the work.

Sunday shall be a weekly day of rest for all whole-time

employees.

Whole-time employees shall be entitled to, in every

calendar year -

(a) all customary holidays with full pay, and

(b) after three months in employment, vacation leave of

such number of working days with full pay as is

equivalent to the number of working days as that

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particular employee should normally attend to work

during a period of four weeks

Provided that whole-time employees who have been in

employment for less than one year shall be entitled to such part of

the said vacation leave as is in proportion to the number of months

in employment.

(1) After one year continuous service, a whole-time

employee shall in every calendar year be entitled to the equivalent

in hours of fifteen days sick leave on full pay, less an amount equal

to the sum set for sickness benefit entitlement at the rate

established under the Social Security Act, and part-time employees

shall have a pro rata entitlement to sick leave in hours on full pay,

less an amount equal to the sum set for sickness benefit entitlement

at the rate established under the Social Security Act, which amount

is also to be calculated on a pro rata basis

Provided that -

(a) the first three days of any claim for sick leave shall be

paid in full by the employer;

(b) a medical certificate covering the period of absence is

produced to the employer on the day of return to work

or, if such period of absence is longer than seven days,

within seven days of the onset of sick leave absence;

(c) employees in receipt of a social security pension in

respect of retirement or widowhood in terms of the

Social Security Act shall, for the purpose of

calculating the sick leave pay due, be deemed to have

received an amount equal to the sum set for sickness

benefit entitlement at the rate established under the

Social Security Act.

(2) After one year continuous service, a whole-time employee

shall in every calendar year be entitled to the equivalent in hours of

a further fifteen days sick leave on half pay, less an amount equal

to half the sum set for sickness benefit entitlement at the rate

established under the Social Security Act, and part time employees

shall have a pro rata entitlement to sick leave in hours on half pay,

less an amount equal to half the sum set for sickness benefit

entitlement at the rate established under the Social Security Act,

which amount is also to be calculated on a pro rata basis

Provided that -

(a) the first three days of any claim for sick leave shall be

paid at half pay by the employer;

(b) a medical certificate covering the period of absence is

produced to the employer on the day of return to work

or, if such period of absence is longer than seven days,

within seven days of the onset of sick leave absence;

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(c) employees in receipt of a social security pension in

respect of retirement or widowhood in terms of the

Social Security Act shall, for the purpose of

calculating the sick leave pay due, be deemed to have

received an amount equal to half the sum set for

sickness benefit entitlement at the rate established

under the Social Security Act.

(3) The employer may require a medical certificate by his own

physician to certify incapacity for work during the period of

absence.

(4) The sick leave entitlement granted by virtue of this

paragraph shall be calculated on the basis provided for annual leave

as specified in regulation 8(1) of the Organisation of Working Time

Regulations.

A whole-time employee shall be entitled to one year injury

leave on full pay, less the full amount of any injury benefit to which

such employee may be entitled under the provisions of the Social

Security Act, if he is injured during the actual discharge of his duty,

and such injury is not due to any contributory negligence on his part,

or to the contravention by him of any safety rules laid down by the

management.

A whole-time employee shall be entitled to three working

days leave on full pay on the occasion of his marriage.

A whole-time employee shall be entitled to two days leave

with pay on the occasion of the birth of a child to his wife.

A whole-time employee shall be entitled to two days leave

with pay on the occasion of the death of any of the following

relatives of the employee: wife, father, mother (or the person who at

the time was acting as father or mother of the employee), son,

daughter, brother and sister.

Any whole-time employee called for jury service shall be

allowed all the necessary time off on full pay to enable him to attend

the Court.

In cases where retirement of a male employee is expected at

the age of sixty years, such employee shall be given the opportunity

by the employer to retain his employment beyond this age at least

until the age of sixty-one years, provided that the employee in

question shall still be allowed, if he so wishes, to retire at sixty

years.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This note is not part of the Order but is intended to indicate its

applicability.

The above provisions apply -

(a) for all employees of cargo clearance and forwarding

agents (burdnara) in any employment relating wholly

or mainly to the cargo clearance and forwarding trade,

and

(b) for all employees in any undertaking or part of an

undertaking engaged wholly or mainly in the clearance,

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haulage and transport of furniture and other household

effects, and other goods or materials.