Newsletter - August 2023
Senior Responsible Person/Director(s)
If you are a payroll administrator or consultant receiving this communication, it is important that you immediately share all communications and messaging from the BIBC with the appropriate senior staff member and business director(s).
Builders’ Holiday 2023/24
The Council has approved the dates and the Holiday Calendar is published on the website. The holiday period for the industry starts at the close of business on Friday 15 December 2023 and we open on Monday 15 January 2024.
Payout 2023 - EFT/Banking Details
In preparation for Holiday Payout 2023, you will start receiving various requests to verify and update employee details. Do look out for these communications starting around mid-August with a request to verify banking details for your employees. The communications will guide you in terms of the procedures to follow and the due dates for submission of changes to your employees’ details.
Return submissions on eesi©
Since the returns function on the eesi© payment system was introduced at the start of this benefit year, there has been a phenomenal improvement in successful returns submitted by employers. Of all returns submitted to date, 73% have no errors and the payment matches the return amount.
It remains concerning that 1500 to 1700 returns are either unpaid, or we cannot find the payment as the incorrect or no reference was used to identify the deposit. Then, between 300 and 400 returns have no matching payment. These two categories require time-consuming investigations and significantly hamper our efforts to reduce our processing time for all employers.
Your deposit should only have your BIBC employer number and no other details. This will become crucial at the end of the year when we do not have time to investigate variances or to search for your deposit. Your cooperation in this regard will be highly appreciated. Grateful thanks also go to the employers who have heeded our previous pleas in this regard.
New Main Collective Agreement (MCA) - Rates change
As first advised by email on 06 July, the new MCA was extended to non-parties and is in effect from 24 July 2023. Do remember to amend your payroll systems* as the contribution codes applicable to the previous agreement will no longer be available for dates after 23 July 2023. Your submissions for July 2023 should therefore reflect old rates for weeks 1 to 38 (01 November 2022 to 23 July 2023) and new rates from week 39 to 52 (24 July 2023 to 31 October 2023). As per the communications sent to all employers, a copy of the MCA and the new wage schedules is published on the BIBC website.
* If you implemented the increased rate from 01 November 2022, you would not need to make any changes.
New Main Collective Agreement (MCA) - Key clauses amended/added
There are several changes to the MCA, as negotiated by the parties. Do read the Agreement carefully. Notable changes are to clauses relating to:
- Temporary Lay-off (Amended)
- Retrenchment (Amended)
- Family Responsibility Leave (Amended)
- Parental Leave (NEW as per Basic Conditions of Employment Act amendments)
Where necessary, detailed Practice Notes will be written and distributed to employers to explain the procedures used to implement the changes.
Employer Organisations
The Council currently has three Employer Organisations who are parties to the Council. A link to their websites is also available on the BIBC website. Contact them directly for queries related to the services they offer and how they can support you in your business.
- Consolidated Employer Organisation (CEO)
- MBA Western Cape
- MBA Boland
BIBC Departments’ Email Addresses
The following email addresses must be used for specific queries. If you are unsure where your query must be sent to, send only one email and address it only to
_________________
Pearl Pugin - CEO
Building Industry Bargaining Council
Employers take note: Stricter rules were laid down by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) to ensure retirement fund contributions are paid.
- Every year, thousands of South African employees are informed that their employer didn’t pay over their retirement fund contributions.
- New measures have been put in place by the FSCA to oblige funds to inform members directly when contributions have not been paid.
- The offenders will find it increasingly difficult to do so without employees and the public at large knowing about it.
A new conduct standard under the Financial Sector Regulation Act that became effective in February this year, obliges employers to provide funds with the contact details of all employees who become members of a fund. This will enable funds to contact their members directly.
This new conduct standard requires that administrators and principal officers report the failure to pay the pension contributions to the Board of Trustees of the pension/provident fund. The fund will then report the failure to pay contributions by the employer to members, pension fund regulator and the South African Police.
To prevent employers from using members’ contributions for their own ends, the FSCA, which regulates retirement funds, also plans to name and shame employers who do not pay, or who short-pay, contributions.
The Pension Funds Act obliges employers to pay contributions to the Building Industry Bargaining Council by the 7th of the month following the month for which they are due. The act also makes employers who fail to pay contributions as set out in the rules of the fund by this date, guilty of a criminal offence.
The new conduct standard obliges trustees to determine the name of the person at any employer who is to be held personally liable for the unpaid contributions. Employers will be required to provide this information when setting up or joining a fund and each time they submit a contribution statement. The new standard makes it clear that if contributions remain outstanding for three months after the due date, the trustees must report the matter to the South African Police.
Investments
The Funds objective is to replace income as a nest egg for retirement. The Trustees declare a fund interest in order to pass investment returns to you as a member and this requires the trustees to make an assessment of the investment needs/risk profile of the majority of the members and then to tailor the investment according to the members and profile.
The aim is to provide members with suitable investment portfolios with a long-term return objective that suit the majority of the members. The Trustees have to therefore be prudent in the management and oversight of the Fund by regularly monitoring the investment performance while also assessing the strategy’s continued appropriateness.
Investment Strategy
The Fund provides members with a default lifestage investment portfolio and does not provide investment choice portfolios for members. The de-risking parameters for the Fund’s default lifestage investment strategy are as follows:
The Lifestage is invested as follows:
The investment performance of the investment strategy as at 31 March 2023 is illustrated below:
Statistics of the Fund
The table below provides information about the membership, contributions received, and benefits paid up to as at the financial year-end at 31 October of the year:
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Danie Hattingh - Principal Officer
Building Industry (Western Cape) Pension Scheme
Building Industry (Western Cape) Provident Fund
