by Mark Mfikoe, national director of the Electrical Contractors' Association of South Africa
WE, as compliant contractors, suppliers and manufacturers in the electrical contracting industry, must intervene now in order to stop the rot corroding our industry. No longer can we allow pirate contractors to continue operating unchecked. We cannot sit and watch as quality, safety and excellence are compromised by widespread non-compliance perpetuated by ‘pirate' contractors and the use of non-compliant materials.
ECA(SA) members are compliant - indeed, the Constitution of the Association demands that they should be - and there are also many compliant non-ECA(SA) members, however, this industry has another group of contractors who are doing a considerable amount of work in the industry: pirate contractors. These ‘pirates' are not registered with the Department of Labour, Workman's Compensation or the National Bargaining Council for the Electrical Contracting Industry of South Africa (NBCEISA), and they do not employ at least one Registered Person.
I believe that a big part of taking back our industry is getting non-compliant contractors to either become legal or get flushed out. Normal civil society would do the same if the medical fraternity had a proliferation of non-registered medical practitioners - no one would consult a doctor who was not registered!
MAIN COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT
The NBCEISA's Main Collective Agreement - extended to non-parties to the Council by the Minister of Labour - dictates, in Clause 33, that "employers entering the Industry ... shall register with the Council within 30 days of commencing operations". It further states that "... every employer to whom this Agreement applies, but who is not registered in terms of the provisions of sub-clause (1) (a) of this clause, shall be deemed to be registered from the date of commencement of his business and shall observe the provisions of this agreement".
It is clear from the wording of this Agreement that every single employer in the electrical contracting industry must register with the NBCEISA. Any employer that is not registered is breaking the law. The deeming provision is also important: If you manage to dodge registration, the day you are caught, your obligations of registration will be calculated from the date you commenced business.
Registered contractors are registered with Workman's Compensation and the Department of Labour; they employ licenced electricians; their employees have retirement benefits (contributions and investment returns); and those employees and their immediate families are covered for death, disability and funeral costs.
Unregistered contractors do not have any of these and when an employee is affected by an unforeseen tragedy, they do not have disability cover and no death cover; and their employees retire with nothing and have to rely on the State for a miserable pension. As a society that has adopted a Constitution with a Bill of Rights that is respected worldwide, we cannot allow this to happen to this country's citizens.
Employing these ‘pirates' presents a serious risk in the event of an insurance claim being lodged and, should it be found that a non-compliant contractor carried out the work, there is a very real risk that the claim will be repudiated. Not only is it careless to use pirate contractors, it is also grossly negligent.
CRACK TEAM
Over and above my job as national director of the ECA(SA), I am in the fortunate position of being the acting joint national secretary of the NBCEISA and can reveal that the council has set up a crack team of agents who have been employed to find pirate contractors.
These unregistered contractors will then be registered according to the provisions of the council's agreement and their obligations will be assessed from the date they commenced business according to the requirements of Clause 33 of the NBCEISA's Main Collective Agreement.
Starting in October, these agents will travel to every single construction site in South Africa. They are not ordinary agents - they have one mission: Find the non-compliant operators and get them to comply or ensure they are flushed out of the electrical industry.
In the last three years or so, the margins of the electrical industry have been severely pressurised. Some electrical contractors have chosen to ‘close their eyes' and use illegal contractors as sub-contractors on various sites. Usually, once a tender has been awarded, ‘pirate' contractors are employed at cheaper rates to increase profit margins. However, the only reason ‘pirates' are cheaper is because they are non-compliant. While unsuspecting clients think they have employed a reputable contractor, in actual fact the work is being done by an unregistered pirate contractor - and at great risk to the client. The secretariat of the NBCEISA is committed to ensuring that the temptation for legitimate contractors to use ‘pirates' will become extremely unattractive.
The NBCEISA is also aware that some registered contractors under-declare the number of people they employ in order to appear compliant, however, the agents will also be on the lookout for this dishonest practice and these people will be found and brought to book.
Many compliant contractors have protested directly to me that the NBCEISA allows "too much space in which pirates can operate". I believe that the crack team of agents, which reports directly to the secretariat, is a solution. And, although our resources are not limitless, we have thrown enough at this problem to start eradicating pirate contractors from the electrical industry. Like the suppliers and manufacturers in the electrical industry we, too, are determined to take our industry back.
WE WILL LEAD WITH ACTION IN THIS REGARD.
The clock has started ticking. We are taking our industry back - we are honour bound to do this.
Contact Elaine Schlebusch on (011) 339-2312 or elaine@nbcei.co.za with any information that may assist the agents in locating pirate contractors.
