Amy Musgrave
THE NATIONAL Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has once again rejected plans by Eskom to convert its pension fund, accusing the power utility of allegedly mismanaging the fund.
Hundreds of NUM members held a protest outside Eskom’s Megawatt Park head office in Johannesburg yesterday, where they handed over a memorandum of demands that included the pension fund rejection.
Eskom has wanted to convert its pension fund from defined benefit to defined contribution for many years. The NUM, which represents 16 000 workers at Eskom, is opposed to this because most of its members fall into the lower-paid bracket. Therefore, a pension fund is the only effective savings for old age.
“We remain suspicious that Eskom may have mismanaged the pension fund, resulting in a situation where the defined benefit may be at a financial risk in terms of Eskom’s ability to pay the commitments for our pensions and are now trying to change the pension scheme to hide this,” the memorandum reads. “We demand that Eskom withdraw the conversion of the pension fund, and the board provide an independent audit of the state of the pension fund.”.
In 2002 there were allegations Eskom had not underwritten the defined benefit fund, meaning that if there was a shortfall, benefits could be reduced or contributions raised.
The NUM held the protest yesterday despite threats by Eskom that its members could face disciplinary action. Eskom is considered an essential service, making it illegal for employees to protest or strike.
The union, which voted Eskom as the worst employer in the country, has many gripes with the utility, including the lack of a minimum service agreement despite seven years of negotiations. The NUM does not believe that all workers at Eskom should be considered essential service employees.