An analysis of the National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight and Logistics Industry's (NBCRFLI) financial statements has raised concerns about the treatment of R2.59bn in workers' benefit funds. The analysis, commissioned by Innovative Staffing Solutions (ISS), examined the council's published financial statements for the years 2018 to 2025. ISS successfully applied to the high court in March 2024 for the disclosure of the council's financial records. The council had stopped making its financial statements publicly available.
The analysis found that the R2.59bn in workers' benefit funds was treated as the council's own assets in 2025. It also discovered that the council did not prepare separate financial statements or audits for its sick pay, holiday pay, leave pay, and wellness funds. This made it difficult to determine the financial position of each fund independently or establish whether sufficient money had been set aside to meet workers' claims. ISS Managing Director Arnoux Maré emphasized that workers should be able to determine whether the funds were properly ringfenced and how income generated from their investments was being used.
The analysis revealed that the sick pay, holiday pay, and leave pay funds did not have sufficient assets to cover their liabilities at each year-end from 2021 to 2023. The combined shortfall was R35.8m in 2021, R23.1m in 2022, and R31.2m in 2023. The analysis also raised questions about the treatment of the Wellness Fund in the council's 2025 financial statements. The statements recorded R78.5m in Wellness Fund investments as council assets without showing an equivalent amount as money owed to or held on behalf of the fund.
The analysis highlighted the council's reliance on investment income. The NBCRFLI recorded R325m in interest income for the year ended February 2025, compared with R148.1m in levies. Levies accounted for less than 18% of total revenue of R837.7m. Interest income exceeded levy income in every year from 2018, according to the analysis. Benefit fund investments accounted for R2.59bn of the council's R3.42bn investment portfolio in 2025, or about 76%.
The council recorded its only deficit in the eight years covered by the analysis in 2022, when interest income fell to R131.4m. Employee costs reached R208.3m in 2025, exceeding levy income by R60.2m before other expenses were taken into account. The analysis also found that the council's accumulated reserves increased from R463m in 2018 to R1.08bn in 2025. Maré questioned whether the level of reserves was proportionate to the council's operating requirements.
Maré called for greater scrutiny of how investment earnings and accumulated surpluses were used. The council received an unqualified audit opinion; however, the analysis argues this should be considered alongside its concerns that the financial statements may contain material misstatements. ISS has called on the registrar and department of employment and labour to verify the council's compliance and require the publication of separate accounts for the benefit funds.
ISS has also called on the council's employer and union parties to review the use of investment earnings and accumulated surpluses. The figures cited in the analysis are drawn from the NBCRFLI's published audited annual financial statements for the financial years ending February 2018 to February 2025. The council's financial management practices have been brought under scrutiny, with ISS pushing for greater transparency and accountability in the handling of workers' benefit funds.
Key points
- The National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight and Logistics Industry's financial statements have been analyzed, revealing concerns about the treatment of R2.59bn in workers' benefit funds.
- The council's reliance on investment income has been highlighted, with interest income exceeding levy income in every year from 2018.
- ISS has called for greater scrutiny of the council's financial management practices and the publication of separate accounts for the benefit funds.
