Municipal Rates, Labour Relations Acts approved

Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma has signed into law the Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Amendment Act.

The Act seeks to:

• Regulate the categories of property in respect of which rates may be levied;
• Regulate the time frames of publication of the resolutions levying rates and what must be contained in the promulgated resolution;
• Provide for the exclusion from the rates of certain categories of public service infrastructure;
• Give powers to a municipality to levy different rates on vacant land;
• Give power to the MEC of Local Government to extend the period of validity of a valuation roll by additional two years;
• Amend the dates on which a supplementary valuation takes effect; and
• Address the problems that have been experienced in the implementation of the Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Act, 2004.

President Zuma has also assented to the Labour Relations Amendment Act, 2004 (Act No.6 of 2014).

 The Act seeks to:

• Respond to the increased formalisation of labour to ensure that vulnerable groups receive adequate protection and are employed in conditions of decent work;
• Ensure that labour legislation gives effect to fundamental constitutional rights, including the right to fair labour practices, to engage in collective bargaining and right to equality and protection from unfair discrimination;
• Enhance the effectiveness of primary labour market institutions such as the Labour Court, CCMA, the Essential Services Committee and Labour Inspectorate; and
• Rectify the anomalies and clarify uncertainties that have risen from the interpretation and application of the Act and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act of 1997.

-SAnews.gov.za