Civil servants to sue state for pensions

One of the biggest class actions against the state pension fund will unfold later this month.

More than 80,000 former Transkei civil servants from Butterworth, Sterkspruit, Mthatha, Matatiele, Kwa Bhaca, Maluti, Mzimkhulu, Kokstad, Komani, Lusikisiki, Ntabankulu and Flagstaff are taking on the state over the way their pensions were transferred from the old SA fund to the new.

They are calling on all disgruntled pensioners to come forward so they can sue the Government Employment Pension Fund (GEPF).

The GEPF was started in 1996 but some civil servants say they has been paying towards their pensions since 1976 but their pensions were not integrated into the new system.

A committee formed by the pensioners has launched a case which will be argued in the North Gauteng high court on October 29.

One of the committee members, Thobile Ndabambi, said he had been working for the department of defence for 10 years but he was only paid out a pension for two years.

“There are many people who have been affected by this who have died due to stress-related conditions.

“It seems as if the government does not care about our plight.

“We are not asking for any favours, but we are simply asking the state to pay us what is due to us, money that we worked for,” Ndabambi said.

In their court papers, the group said GEPF was in breach of the civil servants’ constitutional rights.

The members, they say, sustained damages and suffered prejudice due to the governments mishandling of their exit from the Transkeian Government Service Pension Fund when they were incorporated into the GEPF.

Public service and administration minister Ayanda Dlodlo told journalists that, as of May, there were 44,190 cases of unclaimed and unpaid benefits.

The Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA), which is responsible for administering pensions on behalf of the GEPF, stated that it had 26,919 cases of unpaid benefits, amounting to R907.1m, and 17,271 cases of unclaimed benefits, valued at R698.9m.

GPAA spokesperson Mack Lewele said: “We are however unable to comment on the matter because it is before the courts.”