Past discriminatory pensions redress ‘in final stages’
Retired civil servants who applied for compensation in terms of the
Past Discriminatory Practice (PDP) programme of the government could have an official response to their applications by end July.
This is according to the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC), the body that has been responsible for coordinating the project.
The PDP programme is aimed at compensating civil servants for discriminatory practices in the apartheid era when they received different levels of pay and pension benefits according to their racial classification.
Applications closed in 2012.
A local retired teacher from Pacaltsdorp who wants to remain anonymous, complained to the newspaper that since applying for redress in 2012, she has been struggling to obtain information about the progress of her application.
She received a letter in 2016 from the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) to acknowledge receipt of her application, but there was no further communication after that.
She was none the wiser after phoninh the GEPF’s call centre.
“In the letter they promised that I would be informed of the outcome of the process within four to six months.”
The communications department of the PSCBC told the George Herald that the process is “in the final stage of conclusion”. A draft close-out agreement is ready for tabling in the council of the PSCBC.
“The delay currently is the ongoing wage negotiations in the public service.
“We will only resume normal activities once the wage negotiations have been finalised. The estimated 160 000 applicants may expect an official response as soon as the agreement is signed. We anticipate this to be no later than end July 2018.”