Clause 3 of the Constitution of the GPSSBC describes the scope of the Council as follows:

The State, as employer, and its employees who fall within the scope of the PSCBC, and do not fall within the registered scope of the:

• Education Labour Relations Council;
• Public Health and Social Development Sector Bargaining Council; and
• Safety and Security Sectoral Bargaining Council.

Therefore the Parties to Council include the State as the Employer and the Trade Unions NEHAWU (National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union), POPCRU (Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union) and PSA (Public Servants Association).

The area and scope of operation of the GPSSBC is national, with provincial and national chambers.

The General Secretary acts as a full-time Accounting Officer of the GPSSBC with full oversight and authority over internal operations and staff. The core function of collective bargaining is a national competency influenced by the provincial and national chambers. The function of dispute resolution is centralised and insourced within the organisation with a wholly outsourced panel of Conciliators and Arbitrators.

Furthermore, in terms of Clause 5 of the Constitution, the GPSSBC has powers to engage in the following activities, amongst others, in the execution of its core operations:

• Conclude and enforce collective agreements;
• Prevent and resolve labour disputes;
• Perform dispute resolution functions referred to in Section 51 of the Act;
• Establish and administer a fund to be used for dispute resolution; and
• Create an environment conducive to the provision of operational services by the PSCBC.

The practical result of the diverse Scope of theGPSSBC is that the Scope spans:

• 9 Provincial Governments,
• 93 Provincial Departments,
• 34 National Departments, and
• 305 000 Employees