Staff want to choose own pension fund

MANY government employees, such as myself, across South Africa are struggling to exercise the freedom of their choice in changing over from the Sala pension fund to a pension fund which offers better growth and returns. Certainly it is a unfair labour practice when employees with far fewer years' service have their pension fund accumulated at a much higher sum than the longer standing employees – especially when certain employees do not have the freedom in changing over to a better pension fund.

For example, at my workplace, the pension fund situation at the same grade after five years' service stood at less than half the pension benefit than that of an employee who had worked for a year, on the same grade, paying the same monthly fees to another pension fund. At Sala we don't get the same service, returns, investments and reports by far that other pension funds, like Capejoint, offer.

Many moratorium-affected employees are fighting a losing battle in trying to leave Sala. Lift the moratorium, and moreover investigate how the Sala pension fund is invested and how this investment is returned to relevant employees!

Name supplied, Port Elizabeth