Rössing pensioners say surplus payout unfair

PENSIONERS of Rössing Uranium have made a plea to President Hifikepunye Pohamba and founding President Sam Nujoma to intervene in the unhappiness over the distribution of the Rössing Pension Fund Trust surplus.

The principal officer of the fund, Erich Beukes, and a board representative met with pensioners on August 2 at Tamariskia in Swakopmund to inform them that they would receive a 15 percent increase in their monthly pensions instead of a lump sum. These payouts will start at the end of August and will be backdated to February 2011. Pensioner Ernestine Harases, whose husband worked at Rössing Uranium, said the pensioners wanted Pohamba to sit with the Rössing Pension Fund to ensure that there was fairness of the payout of the surplus pension money. Pensioners who met with Beukes said the decision made by the board of trustees and company was ‘unfair and undemocratic’ because they were never consulted over the matter. They feel that they are being discriminated against because they have retired or were widowed. ‘No one asks ageing; no one asks death,’ they said, adding that they were bona fide contributors to the fund and not the current employees who also stand to benefit from the surplus payouts. They said they were told at the August 2 meeting that in the event of their death, the payouts would stop with not a cent going to their children. ‘This information has come as a shock to us and mixed feelings and dismay were the order of the day. For those who have given this company years of loyal service and those whose blood has watered this fund, men who have died on duty or in operation of their duties,’ the disgruntled former employees said. The fund’s trustees and the company decided that former employees would get 15 percent of the pension surplus, a further 33 percent is to go to the company to fund about three years of company contributions towards the pension fund, two percent will go towards members’ contributions to the fund, and 50 percent goes to current members and pensioners. The surplus pension was worth N$367,2 million on March 31 2009. There are 1 268 pension fund members, and between 5 000 and 10 000 former members. If lump sums were to be paid out to former members, they would have received just over N$6 000 or slightly more than N$12 000.