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Master Builders Kwazulu-Natal Newsletter
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Edition 15 - October 2009
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Dear Readers
We would firstly like to congratulate all the winners of the regional Health & Safety Awards. The awards function took place on Friday at the Durban Country Club and we will be publishing a number of news articles on this topic over the next two weeks - watch this space!
If you would like to view some pictures of the function and the winners, navigate to our Blog http://blog.masterbuilders.co.za.
In this edition, we feature articles on Electricity, the current economic outlook for the Building Industry, as well as the usual articles on Health & Safety and Contractual & Legal issues.
Victor also reports back on the 37 Members we assisted with their Workplace Skills Plans. They have been paid out a total of over R220.000 in mandatory grants back from CETA. If you would like to find out how to access funds from CETA, contact Victor Smith on 031 266 7070.
Finally, we would like to remind you that the annual Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal golf day will be taking place on Tuesday 24 November. Remember that space is limited, so book early to avoid disappointment.
Gary Amstutz | Commercial & Online Manager
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Current economic outlook for the building industry
According to an analysis in the latest FNB Building Confidence Index which measures the business confidence of major enterprises, the built environment practitioners and suppliers involved in the confines of the construction sector that the downward spiral in the residential building sector was probably close to bottoming-out but the downswing in the non-residential sector was likely to continue.
The analysis is based on the survey compiled quarterly by the Bureau of Economic Research at the University of Stellenbosch. The latest survey results showed a slight increase in the index to 32 in the third quarter of 2009 from 30 in the previous quarter.
Three quarters of the respondents indicated that growth in work loads was lower than a year ago and 76% reported that insufficient demand for building work was a constraint on their business operations.
Some 84% of the respondents reported lower profits margins than in the same quarter a year ago resulting in the tendering environment still being tight and highly competitive.
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ELECTRICITY PRICE HIKES - PAYING OUR DEBTS?
The Bad News
Eskom's latest electricity price hike of 34% was granted by the National Electricity Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) at the end of June this year. This was just the beginning of the onerous news about this issue. It is now well known that Eskom has approached NERSA with a plan for increasing the electricity price by 45% in November and an equivalent hike again towards the end of 2010 and then 2011. According to some sources this will effectively mean that electricity prices in 2012 will be more than 5 times that of 2007 level.
This has naturally sparked an outcry from all quarters of society and the economy. It goes without saying that an increase such as this will have an enormous impact on economic growth and the ability to use electricity at every level of society. Typically, when faced with the prospect of such challenges, we see a vocal and unfortunate tendency to start blaming and trying to find somebody to hold responsible and accountable. The truth is that that this responsibility is borne by all South Africans.
There is no doubt that economic wellbeing is essential to ensure that all citizens can lead a dignified, healthy and reasonably comfortable life. Healthcare, education, safety and security and, perhaps most importantly, food production, all rely heavily on energy for their implementation. Energy largely, in today's paradigm, means electricity.
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Congress 2009 (Part 2) Health and Safety Session
Congratulations to Master Builders South Africa for allocating a morning session to Occupational Health and Safety at there 104th Annual Congress which took place from 27-29 September 2009, at the Santon Convention Centre. Presentations
Dr Bill Promfret of Safety Projects International Canada, was the main speaker on the morning of 29 September 2009 and his message which was primarily aimed at senior management, came across very clearly. Promfret could not emphasize enough the importance of involvement at management level and stated that without top management's full commitment to safety, the OHS programme would most certainly fail. He also placed emphasis on the actual cost of accidents and illustrated by using case studies from around the world, that the hidden costs, otherwise known as un-insured costs, could be up to 50 times more that of the insured cost, if property damage is also involved.
His presentation was followed by an interesting paper delivered Professor Theo Haupt from the NNM University Port Elizabeth. Haupt conveyed the importance of integrating OHS training into formal studies, such as construction and project management. He tabled some interesting statistics that indicated that the direct cause of accidents throughout the world, is directly related to lack of training.
Panel Discussion
The presentations were followed by a panel discussion consisting of Dr Bill Promfret, Tibor Szana from department of Labour as well as Michael Kruger, an OHS Attorney. Questions and comments were taken from the floor to which the panel duly responded. Although a number of issues were raised, the following two were the most prominent:
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SUBCONTRACTORS - WHEN SHOULD THEY BE PAID?
Payment to the Main Contractor.
The principal agent must, in terms of clause 31 of the JBCC Principal Building Agreement, issue monthly payment certificates based upon a valuation of the work done and send copies to both the employer and the contractor. The principal agent must also in terms of clause 31.13.2 simultaneously issue to each subcontractor a notification showing the formulation of the subcontract amount indicated in the payment certificate.
Payment must be made by the employer to the contractor within 7 days of the issue of each certificate in terms of clause 31.9.
Payment to the Subcontractor
In terms of clause 31 of the JBCC Nominated / Selected Subcontract Agreement the principal agent is likewise obliged to issue interim payment certificates based on a valuation of the subcontract works to the subcontractor, the employer and the main contractor. The subcontractor has to co-operate with the main contractor in the formulation of payment claims.
The main contractor is obliged to prepare and issue a payment advice within 7 days of issue of the payment certificate and payment to the subcontractor must then be made within 7 days after the due date for payment to the main contractor by the employer.
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WSP and Discretionary Grants
Between April and June this year, we encouraged all members to take up the offer of having their Workplace Skills Plans completed on their behalf by our agency that had been set up for this purpose. This was a free service.
The message went as follows:
"Are you paying 1% of you wage bill to SARS as a Skills Development Levy and not getting anything for it? To access these funds, you need to submit your Workplace Skills Plan which the Association can do for you free of charge.
You will qualify for 40% of your contributions as a mandatory grant, to use for training. Thereafter you may apply for further funds through a discretionary grant.
All of this, if you submit you workplace skills plan.
Contact Tracy urgently on: 031 763 2633 or mpowerment@telkomsa.net."
Thirty Seven members took up the offer.
The first quartile payments have been made by CETA and we are glad to announce that to date the 37 members have received R221 350.80 in mandatory grants.
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Cosatu Protest Against labour brokering
Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal recently ran a news article entitled "Labour Law Reforms - The End of Labour Broking," penned by the Association's Executive director Brandon Abdinor and outlined the significant impact, these reforms will have on the way the building industry currently operates.
In Today's Newspaper Headlines.......
The International Trade Union Confederation, have organised protests/pickets to take place across the country around lunch time today (Wednesday 7 October 2009).
In order to curb abuse of workers, both the DA and Cope have recommended that the labour broking market be answerable to a self-regulatory board, Cosatu have rejected this proposal and is calling for an outright ban.
"Cosatu totally agrees with Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana's description of labour broking as 'a form of human trafficking, and an extreme form of free market capitalism which reduces workers to commodities that can be traded for profit as if they were meat or vegetables'."
"It is an industry that exists precisely so that client companies can dodge the existing labour laws and regulations, and hand over responsibility for the fate of their workers to an outside company, the labour broker.
"If the industry wanted to regulate itself, as it requests, why has it not done so already? Because their whole reason for existence is to promote an unregulated labour market."
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Closing comments
We trust that the information provided in this letter has been informative and useful.
We also sincerely hope that these challenging times are being good to you as far as possible. If you are experiencing difficulties with the general lack of work, we hope that these challenges provide you with the opportunity to adapt for your long term prosperity.
Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal
40 Essex Terrace
Durban, KwaZulu-Natal 3630
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Durban Golf Day
 The Association's annual Durban Golf Day first took place in 1934. Players compete for a host of prizes and the coveted Dulux Cup, which is finely wrought in Hallmarked Sterling Silver and measures 800mm in height. This year the event is scheduled for Tuesday 24 November 2009, Tee-Off time still to be confirmed. Remember - Space is limited so to avoid disappointment, please call our Westville office to book your slot, the number is 031 266 7070. To book a team, Lynda will happily assist you. For more information on becoming a marketing partner for the event, Tanya will gladly provide you with all the necessary details. |
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Upcoming Functions, Meetings and Events
South Coast Region year end function
Fri - 20 Nov 2009
Midlands Race Day
Sun 22 Nov 2009
Durban Annual Golf Day
Tues 24 November 2009
Zululand Year End Function
Fri 27 Nov 2009
For more information about forthcoming meetings, events and functions visit the Networking page on our website.
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Master Builders online discussion Forum
Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal General Forum was recently implemented to create a platform for open exchange of Industry relevant information, as well as to encourage healthy debate. The forum is open to anyone who has a vested interest in the construction industry.
Latest Threads:
Are Workers Being Reduced To Commodities?
Sub Contractors
Reconditioned TLB engin
Shutterhand - PMB
To go directly to the forum click on this link http://forum2.masterbuilders.co.za or copy and paste the link into your browser.
Discuss | Contribute | Learn
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OHS Online forum
Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal recently launched an online forum dedicated to Health and Safety. The forum is open to anyone in the Health and Safety profession and is geared specifically to all matters relating to Construction Health and Safety.
Latest Threads:
Will Your Safety Harness Kill You?
Fall Protection planning
Suspension Trauma - What you need to know
Construction regulation 8: Fall Protection
To go directly to the forum click on this link http://safety.masterbuilders.co.za or copy and paste the link into your browser.
Discuss | Contribute | Learn
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Archived Newsletters
 We have started archiving copies of our bi-monthly newsletter on our website. Should you be looking for something that appeared in a previous edition, navigate to the News and Information page. Tip - if you are looking for information from our website and are not sure where to find it, use the Google Site Search facility on the top right of every page (under the contact telephone number).
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Meet the Team
 Did You Know.....Sally Watson spent a week at sea yachting off the coast of Ireland. Neil Enslin likes "Spirits of the Soul" type music. Bonga Dube Plays the violin; he and his brother perform at weddings. Muzi Shabalala's favourite writer is Chinua Achebe, author of "The Arrow of God" and "The Politician." Pieter Rautenbach worked for NOSA as a Junior Occupational Health & Safety Advisor in 1962. .... and, Ernest Roper has jumped off the Orlando Cooling towers in Soweto. (see above pic) For these and many other wacky and wonderful facts about those whom you deal with, visit Focus on Staff, now featuring on the Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal Blog. |
Advertise Here!
If you would like to advertise your product/service here and reach over 600 Members of the Master Builders Association, contact Tanya on
031 266 7070.
For more information visit the advertising section of our website.
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contact us
Tel: 0861 001 106
Health and Safety
Neels Nortje
Financial Services
Clive Hill
Benefits Office
Rob Pengelly
Contractual & Legal
Bruce Lyle
Training
Victor Smith
Customer Care
Shelly Kupferman
South Coast Regional Manager
Hans Stols
North Coast Regional Manager
Paula Ferraris
Midlands Regional Manager
Gareth Roberts
Finance Manager
Greg Beykirch
Commercial & Online Manager
Gary Amstutz
Executive Director
Brandon Abdinor
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