Durban - The Public Servants Association of South Africa (PSA) said on Thursday it was "shocked and angered" by the Congress of South African Trade Union's (Cosatu) public support for a R200 billion investment in Eskom using workers’ money, including pension funds.
"The PSA is on record that no additional investment in struggling state-owned enterprises should be made involving public service pensioners’ money unless proper corporate governance has been implemented and market related returns on investment can be guaranteed," said the organisation.
The PSA has a membership of over 237 000 public-sector employees.
More than 87% of its members belong to the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) - Africa's largest pension fund - with 1.2 million active members and more than 400 000 pensioners and beneficiaries.
"In addition, many of the GEPF pensioners are former members of the PSA and still look to the PSA for support in various matters, including their dealings with the GEPF," said the organisation.
"Should Eskom not be able to fulfil its financial obligations of the loan, it will place a further financial burden on government to ensure that GEPF members’ pension benefits remain intact. In the current economic environment that South Africa is faced with, this will have disastrous effects."
The PSA has in the past called on the minister of public enterprises to explain the financial state of Eskom and what this entails for the country. It also called for a forensic audit to assess the scale and depth of Eskom’s problems, to lay a foundation for a possible financial rescue that would be recovered and generate a return on investment.
"The PSA will continue to oppose the abuse of the GEPF to ensure that good governance principles are adhered to," it said.