Two distinct but complementary regulatory developments have reshaped the enforcement of retirement fund contribution obligations in South Africa. The first is already in effect; the second is presently open for public comment ahead of its formal introduction to Parliament.
On 8 January 2026, the Minister of Employment and Labour withdrew the variation notice published in Government Gazette No. 25846 of 24 December 2003. That notice had excluded contributions payable to benefit funds regulated under the Pension Funds Act, 1956 (the Pension Funds Act) from the application of section 34A of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 (BCEA). Labour Inspectors are now empowered to enforce section 34A, which requires employers to pay employee contributions to a benefit fund within seven days of deduction, together with the employer's contributions within seven days of the end of the month. This enforcement power is already operative and does not depend on the proposed amendments set out in the Employment Laws Amendment Bill, 2025 (the Bill).
The Bill, which proposes to insert new sections 62B and 77B into the BCEA, has not yet commenced. If enacted in their current form, these provisions will expand the enforcement framework by empowering the Labour Court, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) and bargaining councils to issue mandatory orders and will regulate the jurisdictional interplay between these forums and the Pension Funds Adjudicator.
...
exporters knowingly avoided U. S. duties on Asian and European flat-rolled steel products, agreeing to pay $19 million to resolve the dispute, according to a press release issued Wednesday by the U...