Joint Statement – Civil society movements to support Ex-Mine Workers on Marikana day!

To mark Marikana Day,  Western Cape civil society movements will be marching to Parliament in solidarity with Ex-Mineworkers under the banner of Unpaid Benefits Campaign or UBC. UBC is an informal network of organisations and workers trying to ensure ex-mineworkers have access to their pension and provident funds.  

At the end of 2016, there remained an aggregate of more than R41, 7 billion in unpaid pension and provident fund benefits owed to more than four million people. These funds are held by both financial service providers and employer/occupational entities, overseen by the statutory public regulator – the Financial Services Board (FSB). This amount is likely to sharply increase when aggregating the total amount in all pension and provident funds, including the Government Employees Pension Fund and the Transnet Funds. 

We have chosen to march on Marikana Day in commemoration of the courage of the workers that were gunned down six years ago by their own government for demanding a just reward for their labour. We live in a democratic country, under democratic laws that recognise our right to dignity and justice. As citizens of a free country, we are entitled to fair compensation for the labour we provide to make the country successful. The death of the workers in Marikana on this day in 2012 would be in vain if we do not challenge the continuing exploitation of workers in the mines, in the farms and in other sectors of the economy. The 34 workers who laid down their lives fighting for the working class, not just mine workers in Lonmin. We stand here today not only for the ex-mine workers but also for those currently employed in the mines, 13 000 of which are facing retrenchment at Implats. We are here in the name of justice because we have not tasted the fruits of our labour. 

Over R40 billion that is due to ex-mineworkers is trapped in investment funds where it generates profits, not for the workers but for the fund managers who are already rich and earning very high salaries. The families of ex-mineworkers continue to live in poverty while the sweat of their fathers and grandfathers is providing comfort to families who are already comfortable. This makes a mockery of our freedom, democracy and systems of justice. We worked all our lives in the mines and we were cheated of what is rightfully ours. 

Here are some of our demands:

• The payment of the money owed to ex-mine workers and other workers whose money is kept by fund managers under the FSB. These are benefits due to us and they should be paid to us because our families are trapped in poverty while we have money sitting in FSB.
• We want the government to facilitate a process of engagement where the affected workers are part of the process.
• We demand an enquiry into the management of the money of workers who have died in the mines and those who did not receive their benefits due to corruption and maladministration involving FSB, fund managers, lawyers and other agents. Justice for workers is overdue.

March Details: 

Venue: From Keizersgracht Street to Parliament of South Africa

Date: 16 August 2019

Time: 10AM

For media comments contact: 

Lungisa Mandiloyi – Ex-Mineworkers Secretary: 082 972 3280

Lunga Guza – Unpaid Benefits Campaign(UBC) Western Cape Coordinator: 071 458 2597