The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) joins its Affiliate, the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU), in celebrating the court victory enabling workers to attach the assets of their former employer to recoup pension monies owed to them.

The group of 144 former employees of Mafoko Security emerged victorious, after the High Court in Johannesburg dismissed their former employer’s attempt to block them from attaching the company’s assets, to recoup pension contributions Mafoko Security deducted from their pay but failed to pay over to the fund for over five years.

Mafoko Security employs more than 11 000 security guards across the country and is reported to owe R151 million in pension fund contributions to the Private Security Sector Provident Fund (PSSPF).  

Mafoko Security was among four security companies that COSATU named and shamed in January this year for defaulting on workers’ pension fund contribution payments despite having lucrative contracts with government departments and parastatals. Security and cleaning companies along with many municipalities were among the main culprits when the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) released a list of 7 700 defaulters in November last year. The list had virtually doubled from 4 000 the year before.

COSATU commends the workers for their resolve and for fighting to ensure their victory was certain. This cancer of employers defaulting on paying over workers’ contributions must be dealt final blow once and for all.