What a metal and engineering employer files each month, who gets paid, when, and how to build it from a payroll export.
The Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC) is a bargaining council registered under the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (LRA s.27 to s.30). Its head office is in Johannesburg, with regional offices around the country. The council's own site puts its reach at roughly 10,600 firms and 306,000 employees.
Its agreements cover the iron, steel, engineering and metallurgical industries, from structural steel and foundries to machining, engineering workshops and electrical manufacture, with separate agreements for lift engineering and plastics. The exact boundary is the scope clause of the Main Agreement. Motor sales and repair sit under MIBCO (see MIBCO returns), road freight under the NBCRFLI and the chemical industry under the NBCCI.
A collective agreement binds the parties and their members (LRA s.31). The Minister of Employment and Labour may also extend it to every employer in the sector by notice in the Government Gazette (LRA s.32), and that extension is what binds most metal employers, who are non-parties. The council's circulars record that a three-year Main Agreement for 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2027 was signed. Extension is a separate gazette step; check the current circular on meibc.co.za before assuming either way.
An employer in scope registers twice.
Do this before the first pay run; deductions start from each scheduled employee's first day and arrears are reconstructed month by month.
"MEIBC returns" is one monthly submission that settles several agreements at once: on the MIBFA portal you capture a single return, split into council levies and fund contributions, and pay the total into the fund bank accounts.
| Item | Agreement | Who pays | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administration levy | Registration and Administration Expenses Collective Agreement (RAECA) | Employee plus matching employer amount, per scheduled employee | Funds registration, compliance visits and queries. |
| Dispute resolution levy | Dispute Resolution Agreement (DRA) | Employee and employer | Funds conciliation and arbitration. Levy agreements lapse and are re-extended by gazette; e.g. the RAECA and DRA were re-extended from 17 April 2025 at unchanged rates (Circular 2025/03) and again in May 2026. Check the current circular for the rate and whether the extension is in force. |
| Collective bargaining levy | Collective Bargaining Levy Agreement | Check current agreement | Funds the bargaining process. |
| Pension contributions | Engineering Industries Pension Fund Agreement | Employee and employer, % of earnings | EIPF, administered by MIBFA. |
| Provident contributions | Metal Industries Provident Fund Agreement | Employee and employer, % of earnings | MIPF, administered by MIBFA. Each employee belongs to one of the two funds. |
| Sick Pay Fund | Sick Pay Fund Agreement | Per the agreement | Same MIBFA submission. |
Rates change with each amending agreement and are published as circulars and a Funds Contributions Breakdown on the council's compliance-forms page; take them from the current notice on meibc.co.za and mibfa.co.za, not from this guide. Plastics employers fall under the Plastics Agreement, with different levy and fund rules and a separate Plastics Exemption Application Form.
The deadline is statutory. Section 13A(3) of the Pension Funds Act 24 of 1956 requires payment of retirement fund contributions within seven days after month-end; s.13A(2)(b) allows 15 days for the contribution schedule, but MIBFA requires the reconciliation to accompany payment within the seven days. MIBFA sets this out on its payment page.
The council levies ride on the same submission, so the 7th is the working deadline for the whole MEIBC return. Add it to your compliance calendar next to the EMP201 and UIF declarations, which share the date.
Before the Minister may extend an agreement to non-parties, the council must have an exemption procedure that decides applications within 30 days and an independent body that decides appeals within 30 days (LRA s.32(3)(dA) and (e)). At the MEIBC:
Separate forms cover pension or provident fund exemptions and the plastics sector. Expect to attach financial statements and director details: the council wants evidence that compliance would threaten the business.
Three enforcement routes apply to a late or short return.
MIBFA charges compound interest on late contributions at the rate set in the industry agreement, from the day after the deadline.
Non-payment contravenes PFA s.13A. MIBFA reports employers who miss the seven-day window to the Financial Sector Conduct Authority, and the Act makes the people who manage the employer's financial affairs personally liable for unpaid contributions (PFA s.13A(8)).
A council may enforce its agreements by referring non-compliance to arbitration (LRA s.33A). The arbitrator can order payment and impose a fine, and the award is enforced like a Labour Court order.
Most of the work is in the payroll setup, not the form.
Within seven days after the end of the month, so by the 7th of the following month. That is the Pension Funds Act s.13A(3) payment deadline MIBFA applies to fund contributions (MIBFA also wants the reconciliation with the payment), and the council levies go through the same monthly submission.
On the MIBFA online portal. One monthly submission captures the council levies, the EIPF or MIPF contributions and the Sick Pay Fund, and you pay the total into the fund bank accounts the same day.
Only if the levy agreement has been extended to non-parties under LRA s.32 and that extension is still in force. The levy agreements run for fixed periods, so check the current circular on meibc.co.za rather than assuming either way.
Yes, by written, motivated application to your MEIBC regional office after consulting employees. A refusal can be appealed to the Independent Exemptions Appeal Board. Wage-increase exemptions have a cut-off date (31 July 2025 for party employers for the 2025 increase; 30 days from the date of extension for non-parties), so apply early.
Compound interest on the fund contributions, a report to the FSCA for breach of PFA s.13A, possible personal liability for the people who run the company's finances, and council enforcement by arbitration under LRA s.33A.
Compliance Radar builds the MEIBC return from your payroll export: it maps grades and scheduled-employee flags, rolls weekly runs into the council month, reconciles levy and fund totals, and reminds you before the 7th. See how it works or talk to us.
See it on a payroll like yours.
Book a demoCompliance Radar provides compliance tooling and information to help you manage your obligations. This guide is general information, not legal advice, and is not a substitute for a qualified professional or the current text of the council's agreements.