Report of the Ad-Hoc Committee
on Matters Relating to the Ex- Mineworkers’
1. Introduction
Following the
occasion of the People’s Assembly, which took place in Mbhizana in the
·
To investigate matters raised in submissions from the
Ex-Mineworkers Union.
·
To take into consideration records, reports and
submissions by stakeholders who have previously been involved in this matter,
including the Premier’s Office of the Eastern Cape, the office of the Executive
Mayor of the OR Tambo District Municipality, the office of the Mayor of
Tshwane, the Presidency and Government Departments such as Labour, Minerals and
Energy, Health and Social Development.
·
The Committee to exercise those powers in Rule 138
that may assist it in carrying out its task and
·
To make recommendations that could assist in
addressing the above-mentioned and related problems.
The Committee
comprises thirteen members from different parties represented in the National
Assembly. The Committee was initially required to report to the National
Assembly in October 2007, a date later extended to the
The focus of
the Committee was, in addition to the terms of reference of the Committee, to
follow up complaints received from the Ex-Mineworkers Union regarding an
undertaking made by certain Government offices in regard to payment of social
assistance and unemployment benefits.
There were no
less than thirteen meetings that were convened to discuss the mandate given by
the National Assembly and the manner in which the process would be carried out.
The Committee agreed and received presentations from a number of institutions
and organizations that were considered to be party to the issues relating to
the Ex-Mineworkers Union. These institutions and organizations included, inter
alia, the following:
·
Office of the Speaker
·
Ex-Mineworkers
·
Premier’s Office (
·
Ex-Natal Coal and Gold Mineworkers
·
National Department of Health
·
Department of Labour
·
Chamber of Mines
·
National
·
Mineworkers Provident Fund(1989)
·
Mines’ 1970 Provident Fund
·
The Employment Bureau of Africa Limited
·
Department of Health (
·
Fidentia Curators
The purpose
of this report is to fulfill the mandate given to the Committee by the National
Assembly and submit recommendations to the National Assembly for consideration.
2. Issues of Concern by
the Ex-Mineworkers
In 2005 a
group of people led by Mr E. Nomazele descended on and assembled at the Union
Buildings demanding to meet the President with regards to unresolved issues
pertaining to certain claims for compensation dating back to 1987. According to
the information from the Presidency the following issues were the concerns of
the ex-mineworkers:
·
Establishment of a Trust Fund for Administering R54
Million which was held by the Compensation Commissioner for Occupational
Diseases.
·
Extension of Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET)
programs for the empowerment of Ex-Mineworkers to assist them with income
generation, skills development and knowledge.
·
Release of Monies held by Mine Provident Funds.
·
Death and Disability Benefits.
·
Long Service Awards.
·
Ordering of the Compensation Commissioner to disregard
the Act or Law that disqualified some relatives as beneficiaries or claimants.
According to
the Presidency, during the meeting with the ex-mineworkers at the Union
Buildings, a process was agreed upon at the meeting that all relevant details
of everyone with a legitimate compensation claim that was outstanding be
obtained. It was further agreed that these would be taken in terms of specific
issues each individual had with respect to Unemployment Insurance Fund, Health and
Provident Fund related claims. Furthermore, that there would be no group
resolution as each case would be dealt with on its merits.
3. Committee Briefings
and Matters of Process
In the
process of pursuing its responsibility, the Committee held thirteen meetings
and received briefings and presentations:
3.1. Office of the Speaker
The
information shared revealed that the Office of the Speaker got involved in the
matter in February 2006, mainly as a reaction to a letter that was written to the
Speakers Office, threatening a protest on the day of the State of the Nation
Address.
The
information shared with the Committee also revealed that the concern of the
Ex-Mineworkers related to occupational diseases contracted by their members and
the fact that the matter, which was raised with the Presidency, had not been
given the attention they expected. At a subsequent meeting which took place
between the Ex-Mineworkers representatives and the Office of the Speaker, the
issue seemed to have been around the lack of response or report back since a
meeting which took place in 2005.
3.2. Ex-Mineworkers
The
Presentation made by Mr Nomazele, who is the President of the Ex-Mineworkers
Union, laid bare the issues and concerns of
members of the Ex-Mineworkers Union. The presentation took the Committee
back to the 1987 strike when NUM ordered ex-mineworkers to go home without
having been paid. This was one reason for them to suspect that NUM had a hand
in their problems. The Ex-Mineworkers Union indicated that a number of steps
were taken and all was in vain. These steps included instituting legal
proceedings, asking for assistance from organisations and soliciting
intervention of personalities and various institutions.
This resulted
in payment of what they consider to be a small portion of the enormous sums of
money that are due to them. Linked to the payment is the concern on who
qualifies as a beneficiary.
In the view
of the Ex-Mineworkers Union beneficiaries should include partners of the Ex-Mineworkers
and close family members such as brothers and sisters. The Ex-Mineworkers Union
is concerned that an amount of R54 million which was to be paid out to
ex-mineworkers could not be paid out and alleged that this was due to
interference by the Department of Labour.
It was at
this point that in 2006, the Ex-Mineworkers Union elevated their concern to the
Presidency. The Ex-Mineworkers Union alleged that an undertaking made by the
Provincial Government of the
3.3. Ex-
The
ex-mineworkers residing in King William’s Town who worked in the coal and gold
mines of the former
3.4. Office of Premier of the
The Office of
the Premier of the
It was also
reported that the list of beneficiaries in possession of the National
Department of Health and the list of beneficiaries in possession of the
Ex-Mineworkers Union do not tally. The money for qualifying beneficiaries was
available but the main obstacle was the fact that many of the beneficiaries
could not be traced.
With regard
to the issue of food vouchers, the Office of the Premier reported that a means
test was applied and as a result of which some people were disqualified from receiving
food vouchers as they appeared as recipients of social assistance on the
database of the Department of Welfare. This means that only those
ex-mineworkers who were not appearing on the database of the Department of
Welfare were eligible for food vouchers.
This was not
meant to be a monthly social benefit but a once-off and a pro tempore arrangement that was to occur when the ex-mineworkers
return from the union Building in
3.5. Department of Health
The National
Department of Health first dealt with the matter of Ex-Mineworkers after 1994
democratic elections through the office of the Compensation Commissioner for
Occupational Diseases (CCOD). It was during this period that R54 million was
transferred back to the CCOD. In the period 1994 to 1996 the Department
received incomplete records. In August 2002, after receiving numerous
complaints a task team was established consisting of the Provincial Department
of Health (Eastern Cape) and the National Department of Health, Chamber of
Mines, House of Traditional Leaders, Department Labour (Provincial Office) and
NUM. The purpose of the task team was to assist in tracing possible
beneficiaries.
In 2003 the
Department began a process of capturing information from old files, a process
which resulted in a compilation of a list of 18 500 names of possible
beneficiaries. The list was used to pay a total of 11 200 people who qualified,
each receiving R2 700, after approval by the Minister of Health. This process
to pay out the 11 200 individuals began in March 2003. The money was paid out
from the original R54 million and the current balance is about R20.8 million
that still needs to be paid out to qualifying, but untraceable
beneficiaries.
From July to
September 2003 the Compensation Commissioner of Occupational Diseases staff
visited different regions of the
3.6. Department of Labour
The
Department confirmed the existence of the R54 million, adding that it was
available and was being paid to legitimate claimants. The payment of beneficiaries
is implemented by the Department of Health and is continuing through a process
of verification and screening.
Unemployment
Insurance and Compensation for Injuries have been paid to legitimate claimants
and are still being paid when relevant documentation is presented.
The
Department pointed out that it was communicated to the Ex-Mineworkers Union
that payments can only be done within the confines of the law. Furthermore,
that payment would always be paid to those beneficiaries who presented the requisite
documentation as proof that they or their dependants sustained injuries or
diseases on duty. The Department assured the Committee that the affected
Departments have always done all within the law to serve the group and would
continue to do so.
3.7. Chamber of Mines
The Chamber of Mines
emphasised the fact that the long-service award scheme regulated payment of
service that was not pensionable in terms of the rules of the Mineworkers
Provident Fund, the 1970 Provident Fund and Pension Fund for the Mines and all
the funds approved by the Chamber of Mines at the time, which complied with the
rules on the long-service awards. In
terms of the scheme to qualify as a recipient of the scheme a person should
have been an employee or dependent.
Further requirements were
that, in case of an employee, s/he should be above 55 years of age and have
been a worker for ten years or more. Moreover, if an employee was in the employ
of a mine before 1981 and now not any longer in the service of a mining house
qualified for the award. The other category that qualified for awards were
those employees who had been retrenched, having served the company for at least
ten years and were above the age of fifty. In the case of death after fifteen
years of service the dependant would receive the benefits that could have been
paid to the deceased.
The payments and
processing of the award when the employee was still in the service of a mine
was solely the responsibility of the employer and if the employee was out of
the service of a mine, the employee made the application through The Employment
Bureau of Africa (TEBA) Limited and/or the employer. TEBA also took
responsibility to pay long-service awards to mineworkers who where in a service
of a closed mine. Thus, the Chamber of Mines was not responsible for the
payment of compensation or awards to ex-mineworkers, but only regulated the
payments of awards in respect of service that was not pensionable.
The other
additional points raised by the Chamber of Mines included the fact that the
Mineworkers Provident Fund was for people who had been in the service after
1989 and were paid to beneficiaries upon death, not on retiring or leaving the
services.
The Committee
was informed that the Ex-Mineworkers Union had provided a list of names and
employee numbers to the Mineworkers Provident Fund. In the list provided, the
Mineworkers Provident Fund could only find nine persons in their records and
those people were paid the benefits due to them.
The Committee
was informed that the Chamber of Mines does not trace beneficiaries and
ex-mineworkers. The Chamber of Mines employs the services of TEBA to trace
beneficiaries and ex-mineworkers. TEBA charges the Chamber of Mines for the
service that they render to them.
Moreover, the
Chamber of Mines indicated to the Committee that a project to trace
ex-mineworkers has been established. These ex-mineworkers are assisted to
receive medical examination and if found to have contracted occupational
diseases they are accordingly compensated. There is an amount of R42 million
which has been set aside for this purpose and would be rolled out over a period
of five years.
3.8. National
The National
Union of Mineworkers (NUM) informed the Committee that it did not handle
compensation on behalf of workers and that they did not act as a conduit for
payments. However, they admitted that they assist mineworkers in lodging their
claims.
NUM insisted
that that their role was to raise the issue of the conditions under which
mineworkers work, by for example making recommendations to employers and/or
influencing legislation. They also admitted to playing a role in setting up
trusts and once these are in up and operational they become responsible for
their own rules, as independent entities.
In addition,
NUM also indicated that in the evolution of the problem of ex-mineworkers they
were not in the aware who the Ex-mineworkers
With regard
to the R54 million NUM informed the Committee that it had no knowledge of the
money, adding that TEBA handled the monies of mineworkers.
3.9. Mineworkers
Provident Fund (Mr S. Sidu)
The Mineworkers Provided
Fund was established to regulate and process the payments of money to
beneficiaries of the Fund. The Board of Trustees of the Fund comprise of equal
representatives from both the Chamber of Mines and NUM. The Fund was
established in 1989 and the beneficiaries are the employees who have been in
the service of the mines after 1989. The payment period for all beneficiaries
is six months in case of dismissal and resignation and payment was made
instantaneously in case of retrenchments. The Fund also provides for surety
with regard to members when applying for housing loans. The ex-mineworkers who
were in service prior to 1989, are catered for under the 1970 Provident
Fund. The Fund covered, among others,
death on duty after one year of service and funeral benefits. With regard
to Occupational Injuries and Diseases, it was indicated that these were paid by
Rand Mutual Assurance (RMA) or in some cases in terms of the Compensation for
Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA) 1993.
3.10. Mines’ 1970 Provident Fund (Mr K.Nkosi)
The Fund was
established in January 1970 for the benefit of mineworkers employed by members
of the Chamber of Mines. However, in 1989 a new Provident Fund, namely the
Mineworker’s Provident Fund, came into existence and as a result most members
deserted the 1970’s Provident Fund. With this dramatic fall in membership, in
1994, the Board of Trustees proposed to employers the closure of the Fund.
There were mineworkers who had invested money in the Fund that was being closed
down.
In September
2000, all the active members who were members of the 1989 Provident Fund had
been transferred to other Funds. The new Fund looks after the Fund’s Investment
Portfolio, in addition to tracing and paying out to ex-mineworkers who are no
longer employed or failed to claim benefits from the Fund when they left
employment. The Investments of the Mines’ 1970 Fund, currently stand at about
R200 million. The number of ex-mineworkers that must still be paid is 59 702.
The Committee
was also informed about actions taken before and after 2001 to trace
ex-mineworkers who were members of the scheme. The Committee was informed that
according to recent analysis of the Fund’s database, there could be some of the
ex-mineworkers who were registered in the Fund that closed down. The database
of the closed Fund, shows that there could be some ex-mineworkers who left one
employer and rejoined the Fund in the name of another employer. From a list
provided by the Ex-Mineworkers’ Union, eighteen common members were identified
of which six were paid, and three had been transferred to another Fund, and
nine subsequently received payments.
The Committee
was informed that, dates of birth of most ex-mineworkers who were members of
the Fund were registered as the 1st of January of the year following
that in which the member was deemed to have been born. This proved to be a
complicating factor in verifying the identities of ex-mineworkers who presented
themselves to the Fund for unclaimed benefits. Most identity documents issued
by Department of Home Affairs have particulars that are different from those of
the Funds.
3.11. THE EMPLOYMENT BUREAU OF AFRICA LIMITED (Mr
J. Motlatsi)
The Committee
was informed that the role of The Employment Bureau of Africa Limited (TEBA),
which used to be that of a mine’s recruiting agent, has diametrically changed.
TEBA is currently a Black Economic Empowerment entity which provides support
services to rural families in labour-sending areas and to Provident Funds. The
role of TEBA in regard to the concerns of the Ex-Mineworkers Union is limited
to tracing ex-mineworkers when approached and contracted for a fee by the
Chamber of Mines. There are no links or relationship between the concerns and
problems that are raised by the Ex-Mineworkers Union and TEBA since TEBA only
provides a commercial service to the Chamber of Mines to trace former employees
of mines. However, TEBA still has records of ex-mineworkers which they keep and
use to trace former miners.
3.12. Department of Health in the
The Medical Bureau for
Occupational Diseases and Compensation (MBOD) in the
In order to conduct
medical examination and test procedures the Occupational Health and Safety
Co-ordinators visit the institutions where there are ex-mineworkers. This is
happening in places that are accessible to ex-mineworkers and the Co-ordinators
assist them. Chest X-Rays examinations are done, with the Co-ordinators
assisting in completing all the necessary forms. The physical examination is
conducted by a qualified medical practitioner.
Following these medical
procedures and examinations, the documentation and reports are send to the MBOD
which prepares a report and process the documents accordingly.
3.13. Fidentia
Curators
Mr. Gihwala (Curator)
informed the Committee that NUM invested R789 million in Fidentia. This money
was previously invested with Old Mutual. Fidentia operated as a “pyramid”
scheme and wasted money that was invested with them. It is common knowledge
that Fidentia was now under curatorship and parties involved in mismanagement of
funds are being pursued legally.
Since the curators took
over, they have recovered about R93 million for the NUM provident fund and
approximately R90 million has been paid out as stipends to widows and orphans
of deceased mineworkers. Funds invested with Fidentia are intermingled and it
is therefore difficult to ascertain who invested how much. The curators are
prepared to share additional information with the Committee on relevant matters
on issues that are not subjudice. There
are lists of people that are with the Banks reflecting the investments which
people made. The Committee was also informed that financial transactions made
during the period could not be followed. Thus, it will be impossible for many
investors and/or beneficiaries to recoup all the money that was invested in
Fidentia.
4. CONSTRAINTS OF THE COMMITTEE
The Committee was faced
with serious constraints including the fact that a bulk of the information that
was brought to the attention of the Committee came through the presentations
made by stakeholders and letters received from the Presidency. The other
constraints were that the Committee could not verify the information through
the inspection of records. Moreover, various Departments and offices
interacted with the Ex-Mineworkers Union prior to the establishment of the
Ad-hoc Committee, making undertakings different to each other. These
interactions were haphazard and uncoordinated. All these factors and
engagements made
the work of the Committee more complicated and difficult.
5. Findings
The main finding of the
Committee is that there is substance in the concerns of the ex-mineworkers. The
overall impression that the Committee draws is as follows:
·
There are many stakeholders in this matter. The stakeholders that
appeared before the Committee absolved themselves of any wrong doing. The
manner in which the whole enquiry unfolded makes it difficult to achieve the
desired objective.
·
The stakeholders are involved in different activities to
attempt to resolve the matter but there is no coordinated approach.
·
In the past there were no proper records of identities of
miners that were kept and this makes it difficult to trace the ex-miners or
their beneficiaries. This problem is compounded by the tendency of the mineworkers
not to reveal the terms of their employment benefits to their spouses.
·
As a result of difficulties in tracing beneficiaries, monies
that are supposed to be paid to them are kept by institutions. The following
institutions were identified:
INSTITUTION |
AMOUNT |
|
|
Fidentia |
R789 million |
National Department of
Health |
R20 million |
Chamber of Mines (for the project to,
among others, trace beneficiaries) |
R42 million |
·
The ex-mineworkers want the definition of a beneficiary to be
expanded to include distant relatives like the in-laws. This may be considered
if there are legal limitations related to the rules of the Funds in which
ex-mineworkers are members.
·
It came out during the enquiry that in the process of
attempting to resolve this matter, promises were made by certain Departments
and Institutions.
·
The mining houses are denying knowledge of records that are
supposed to have been kept by them.
·
The Provident Fund was identified as the main holder of the
monies for ex-mineworkers.
6. RECOMMENDATIONS
The Committee, having
noted the issues emanating from the presentations and briefings, including its
own findings, wishes to recommend that the Executive consider the following:
6.1. The Establishment of
an Interdepartmental Task Team consisting of the Department of Labour,
Department of Health, Department of Minerals and Energy and National Treasury.
The main tasks of the
Interdepartmental Task Team should be;
(a) To process
the findings and recommendations.
(b) To trace all the monies that belong
to the ex-mineworkers and once
found transferred to the State for
disbursement.
(c) To publish regular reports on both
the electronic and print media.
6.2. The Interdepartmental
Task Team could be headed by a senior official from the Department of Labour.
6.3. All the claims have
to be processed from one office which should be coordinated and managed by the
Interdepartmental Task Team.
6.4. Monies for
ex-mineworkers that could not be traced must be transferred to the State. The
Committee recommends that the ceded money should be used for development in the
labour-sending areas. This should follow after the process to trace the
beneficiaries has been substantially exhausted.
6.5. In relation to 6.4.
above, relevant legislation regarding the transfer and use of the money may
require amendment. In addition, the rules of the relevant pension funds must be
amended and this might also require legislation as in some respects this will
amount to an expropriation
6.6. The transaction made
between Old Mutual and Fidentia needs to be investigated as this could involve
huge sums of money.
6.7. All documents kept by
stakeholders that could assist in tracing beneficiaries should be surrendered
to the Interdepartmental Task Team and kept by the Department of Labour.
6.8. The Parliamentary
Portfolio Committee on Labour should play an oversight role in the
implementation of the recommendations and for this reason could receive regular
briefings from the Interdepartmental Task Team.
6.9. The Minister of Labour should table the final
report of the
Interdepartmental Task Team to Parliament.
ADdendum
(a) List of Members of the Ad-hoc Committee
(b) List
of Stakeholders and Presenters
Mr
N. S.M. Ngoma
Ms L.
Mbikwana
Mr B.K.
Mashego
Mr F.G. Muller
Ms
T. Khaka
Mr
W.C. Mafu
Mr T.B. Seruwe
Mr S.P. Zondeki
Mr M.P.Mothiba
Dr F.S. Barker
Ms
N. Erasmus
Dr
. Winson
Mr G. Human
11.
Department of Health (
Mr
A. Wild
Report to be considered.
[1] The above Honourable Member was part
of the Committee at its inception in his capacity as a member of the Portfolio
Committee on Minerals and Energy.