South Africa: Ex-Mineworkers Dig Against the Odds for Their Unpaid Pensions
The leaders of an ex-mineworkers association in Khayelitsha have spent the past decade trying to track down the unpaid pension benefits deducted from their wages without their knowledge or consent. While the mining companies sit pretty , ex-mineworkers continue to live hand to mouth with painful memories of a life made invisible. Now, they demand to be seen by a government they feel has betrayed them.
Every Friday for the past decade, Sphiwo William Casiwe has made his way from his home in Khayelitsha to the local activist hub, the Isivivana Centre, for a meeting with fellow ex-mineworkers. He clutches his satchel as he hails taxis and navigates pavements.
He rests his hands on the bag’s flap as he waits for the meeting to start. The bag contains his passbook, issued when he was 17 and headed for the gold mines of Johannesburg.
He can never be sure when an opportunity might arise for him to use the passbook’s meticulous employment records to claim his pension benefits. Casiwe met Bennet Vavi when he joined the ex-mineworkers association in 2008. Since then, the two have become the vice-chairperson and chairperson of the association respectively. Each day, they navigate the web of…
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