Construction Industry News and Views Edition 171 03 June 2019
Dear Members and Readers
Is your builder a Master Builder? The Association has embarked on a campaign to promote the benefits of using members of Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal. To this end, a series of marketing initiatives in the print and radio media are underway. Members must please ensure that you display your membership broadly in order to obtain maximum benefit from this promotion campaign.
Members are invited to the Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal Annual General Meeting to be held at our Westville offices on 25 June 2019. The relevant notice and agenda have been circulated to all members and we look forward to hosting you at this event. The Emerging Contractor graduation and top achiever awards will also be celebrated on the evening.
Outstanding payments from Government departments and implementing agents are continuously pursued. Members are reminded to submit information to the Association for assistance. It has been noted that the 30-day legislated payment period requires urgent attention.
A quarterly meeting of the KZN Good Practice Committee was convened. The opening of tenders as a service offered by the Association was welcomed by all stakeholders in attendance. The role of Social Facilitators in the industry was discussed and it was noted that social facilitation has proven highly effective in mitigating delays on site. It was also agreed that the Committee would engage with eThekwini Municipality to address the lengthy periods for awarding of tenders which impacted on the industry.
Members are reminded that the MBSA Congress will be held on 9 September 2019 at Emperors Palace in Gauteng. The Congress programme features high-level speakers and panellists and will address critical industry challenges with a view to seeking joint stakeholder resolutions. We need to remain optimistic despite declining trends and emerge with solutions that would address the industry crisis.
It seems that May 2019 was a month in which our industry, business in general, the economy and households were plagued by service delivery issues. In the article titled ‘Membership news’ we report on how the industry was hampered by the municipal strike that took place in Durban and by the water related issues that unfolded in the South Coast. There is also a very interesting labour-related article and the chance to enter the Association’s Health & Safety Rewards Programme – so don’t miss out!
Enjoy your newsletter....
Vikashnee Harbhajan | Executive Director
Membership News
In recognition of its long-standing members, Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal recently introduced its membership loyalty awards programme. As part of the initiative, those who renew their membership in 2019 and have held membership of the Association for a period spanning 10 years or more qualify for a certificate celebrating their membership anniversary. It is pleasing to report that over 150 of these certificates have been sent out thus far.
Numerous new entrants into our Awards of Excellence have expressed their uncertainty on what to expect as far as the onsite adjudication is concerned. I have therefore decided to write this article to inform new entrants on what to expect and to expel the doubts that may be preventing other members from entering their projects.
Disciplinary action after resignation with immediate effect
There has been uncertainty about an employer’s right to proceed with disciplinary action after an employee’s resignation ‘with immediate effect’. A judgement of the Labour Court in Cape Town has brought about much needed clarity.
We use the word ‘safety’ so much, often in company with its partner ‘health’, that it should be easy to find a definition. Yet the dictionaries do not offer much assistance — ’Safety [is] the absence of danger’ one says, unhelpfully supplying the entry for ’danger’ as ’absence of safety’! Others suggest ‘a state of protection’ and ’a condition not involving risk’. Perhaps the best we can do is to agree that there is no arbitrary state of ’absolute safety’, as there is always a chance — a risk — of something going wrong, however small that chance may be.
Terminology used in education and training is often a challenge to many. The objective of this article is to address common terms used in relation to trade skills.
MASTER BUILDERS KWAZULU-NATAL HEALTH AND SAFETY REWARDS PROGRAMME
With the increasing advent of international players into the SA construction industry, requirements for Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) are becoming more demanding and contractors are increasingly required to prove a certain standard in OHS. It therefore becomes imperative that the Master Builders KZN members be positioned to meet these requirements.
Plan printing Wide Format printing Site signs Business signage Printing of manuals Marketing materials Laminating Graphic designs Bulk printing Business cards
Contact the Print Studio on
031 831 3421
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CPAP Indices - Stats SA
The latest CPAP indices have been released by Statistics South Africa. This is for April 2019. Please note all previous months are available on the Stats SA website.
MASTER BUILDERS KWAZULU-NATAL Occupational Health Clinic
For medical surveillance, health risk assessments and consulting, audio, lung and Vision screening, HIV voluntary counselling, testing and drug screening, health education and first aid training, get down to Master Builders Occupational Health Clinic at 40 Essex Terrace, Westville.
