BMW takes legal route over R55m pensions

GERMAN car-maker BMW will seek an urgent rescission on an earlier court order compelling it to pay a group of former employees R55-million from a surplus pension fund.

BMW maintained it had already paid them, the company’s attorney Michelle David told Business Day at the weekend.

The 1 390 pensioners were granted a default judgment in the High Court in Pretoria last week.

However, BMW argued that its pension fund’s attorneys were not informed of the court action and did not get an opportunity to defend it.

Business Day understands the pension fund has issued letters to the former staffers in 2008, promising to pay them R28 000 each after a R28million surplus fund was declared.

However, when it was time to pay up, the pension fund issued new letters informing the pensioners that they would be sharing R2-million.

Thandiwe Moshabane, the attorney representing the former employees of the company, said that even if the court reviewed the decision the BMW pension fund would have to explain where the other funds had gone.

“Why does the BMW pension fund not meet the plaintiffs and try to settle this matter out of court? These people are pensioners and have been waiting for payment for years,” Moshabane said.

The former workers were paid in 2014, with one bank statement seen by Business Day reflecting a deposit of R191 from Alexander Forbes, the BMW Pension Fund administrators.

Moshabane said they had been fighting since 2010 to get the workers paid what is “rightfully theirs”.

BMW has insisted it did pay, saying in a comment to Business Day at the weekend that it was an ethical and highly regarded employer which was advised that “our eligible associates have received all of their due benefits from the BMW Pension Fund”.