Road freight council under scrutiny over R2.59bn in worker benefit funds

Source: Markus Spiske via Pexels

The analysis follows an application for disclosure of the Council’s financial statements brought by Innovative Staffing Solutions (ISS) in March 2024 as part of its High Court proceedings challenging the constitutionality of the NBCRFLI’s Main Collective Agreement, after the Council stopped making its financial statements publicly available.

The High Court granted the application, ordering the Council to produce the requested financial documents and, punitively, to pay ISS’s costs, including the costs of two counsel.

The analysis raises the serious issue that some R2.59bn in workers’ benefit funds were treated as the Council’s own property in 2025, effectively placing money collected for workers’ benefits on the Council’s books as its own assets.

The Council did not prepare separate financial statements or audits for the Sick Pay, Holiday Pay, Leave Pay, and Wellness funds, which the analysis says is in contravention of legal and statutory requirements.

As a result, the Council’s published statements do not clearly show all the assets belonging to each fund or allow each fund’s financial position to be assessed independently.

The practical concern for workers is that if money collected for their benefits is folded into the Council’s own accounts, it becomes far more difficult to see whether enough has been set aside to pay their claims or to understand how the returns earned on that money are being used.

ISS managing director, Arnoux Maré states that the Council’s own rules require its financial information to be made available, and court action should not have been necessary to obtain it. “Now that its financial statements have been made public, the Council must address the concerns these statements have brought to light,” Maré argues.

“Every rand in its benefit funds belongs to a truck driver, a forklift operator, or a warehouse worker. Workers should be able to see whether those funds remain properly ring-fenced, whether each fund can meet what it owes to workers, how income earned on that money is being used, and whether it is being used for workers’ benefit.”

The analysis also found that the Sick Pay, Holiday Pay and Leave Pay funds did not have enough assets to cover what they owed at each year-end from 2021 to 2023. Their combined shortfall stood at R35.8 million in 2021, R23.1 million in 2022, and R31.2 million in 2023.

Maré said: “The concern is not simply whether the funds are solvent today. Workers are entitled to understand why these deficits persisted and what has since been done to prevent them from recurring.”

Wellness Fund figures don’t add up

The Wellness Fund offers an especially striking example of why the line between Council funds and workers’ benefit funds must be clear. According to the analysis, the Council’s 2025 statements recorded R78.5 million in Wellness Fund investments as Council assets, but did not show an equivalent amount as money owed to or held on behalf of the fund. In other words, the Council records the asset without clearly showing a matching obligation to the Fund.

The statements also recorded R364.5 million in Wellness Fund contributions as Council revenue, while R309.7 million in medical expenses appeared as Council expenses. This blurs the financial boundary between the Council and the fund, making it difficult to see how much money actually belongs to the Wellness Fund, what it owes, and whether it is financially sound on its own.

Dependence on investment income

In another concern, the NBCRFLI earned R325m in interest in the year ended February 2025, compared with R148.1m in levies - more than double the amount. Levies made up less than 18% of its total revenue of R837.7m, and interest exceeded levy income in every year since 2018. Benefit fund investments further accounted for R2.59bn of its R3.42bn investment portfolio, or 76% of the total.

These findings point to an organisation whose financial sustainability relies significantly on interest and investment returns, leaving it vulnerable to changes in market conditions and interest rates. For example, the Council’s only recorded deficit in eight years occurred in 2022, when interest income fell to R131.4m.

Maré adds that the scale of its reliance on investment income demands closer scrutiny of how the Council funds its operations, and what would happen if investment returns weakened.

For example, employee costs alone reached R208.3m in 2025, exceeding levy income by R60.2 million before other expenses were considered. If investment returns weaken while recurring costs remain high, workers and employers need to understand how that exposure will be managed.

Growing reserves vs workers’ benefits

Meanwhile, the Council’s accumulated reserves increased from R463m in 2018 to R1.08bn in 2025, and Maré questions whether the level of reserves retained is proportionate to the Council’s operating needs.

“Interest can help fund administration and reduce the amount that must be raised through levies. But the Council must demonstrate that its expenditure is reasonable. Permission to retain the interest does not tell workers whether they are receiving fair value from the money held for their benefits. They deserve to know how much is needed to administer their benefits and whether some of the earnings on their investments could improve those benefits.”

The Council received an unqualified audit opinion, but the analysis argues that this should be considered alongside its findings that the financial statements may be materially misstated.

Following publication of the Council’s financial statements, Maré is calling on the Registrar and Department of Employment and Labour to verify compliance and require publication of the separate benefit fund accounts. He also wants the Council’s employer and union parties to review how investment earnings and accumulated surpluses are used.

“The Council now needs to make the separate benefit fund accounts available and explain the issues raised by the analysis. Workers are entitled to know how their money supports the Council and what they receive in return. Organisations entrusted with workers’ money should be held to the same rigorous standards of financial reporting and accountability as financial services providers,” Maré concludes.