Before a bargaining council can be registered, the trade union and employers’ organizations must meet a number of conditions including in the main, being at least “sufficiently representative” of the area and sector in which they operate. Furthermore, section 30(1)(b) of the LRA requires the constitution of every bargaining council to make provision for “the representation of small and medium enterprises”. Where the parties in the bargaining council are representative of the majority of workers and employers in that sector, the council can request the Minister of Labour to extend its collective agreements to non-parties. The Minister then has no discretion and he or she must extend the agreement within 60 days of receiving the request. Moreover, the Minister can also extend agreements to non-parties who fall within the registered scope of the council in cases where the parties (in the council), are only “sufficiently representative”, and if failure to do so would “undermine collective bargaining at sectoral level or in the public service”.