The lack of awareness among smaller and emerging building contractors in the civil engineering and construction industry about protecting their interests through proper contract documentation is alarming, says the Joint Building Contracts Committee (JBCC). “At least 100 000 people are involved in building contracts in the South African construction sector every year – but the majority know very little of the contracts in common use or the legal procedures to be followed during the course of a buildingproject,” says JBCC CEO Uwe Putlitz.
He notes that subcontractors are often exploited by main contractors, particularly regarding payments, which are often late, not paid in full or not even paid at all. This kind of practice is risky when smaller builders that are employed as subcontractors in a struggling sector of the local economy have to survive.
Putlitz says the JBCC recognises that the contractual needs of the now significantly increased number of small builders and subcontractors operating in South Africa differ substantially from those of about 20 years ago when there were fewer emerging contractors.
The JBCC has started to simplify the use of language and the style of writing considerably since the 2014 editions of the JBCC Agreement.
Too many contractors regard contract administration as time consuming and consider compliance with statutory and contractual provisions a nuisance and threat to their company’s productivity.
Therefore, important contractual obligations, such as inspections on site, record keeping and the issuing of instructions and various certificates, tend to be neglected.
Although JBCC Agreements form a binding contract between all the parties involved, too many employers – after the agreement has been signed – make changes that are unfair to contractors. This leads to the contractors, in turn, imposing totally unfair performance and payment conditions on subcontractors.
The JBCC presents 10 to 12 training seminars in most of South Africa’s main centres and also presents in-house seminars, tailoring the content to suit the user, which, for example, focuses on clauses relevant to contractors, subcontractors or property developers.
JBCC documents, available in hard copy or digitally, are used throughout Africa, mostly in the old Commonwealth countries where English is fairly widely spoken and, to a lesser extent, where South African developers, consultants and/or contractors are involved.
