Civil Servants Pension Redress

Description

A documented account of one of South Africa’s longest-running pension redress disputes

The Issue of Pension Redress in South Africa examines the history, development and continuing consequences of pension discrimination experienced by former South African civil servants.

Author Clifford I Nasson traces the issue from apartheid-era discriminatory employment and pension practices through the establishment of the democratic public service, the pension redress programme of the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC), and the continuing calls for broader pension restitution.

The book examines the experiences of former teachers and other public servants, including former civil servants of the Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei (TBVC) States. It considers the roles of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA), Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), Parliament, the South African Human Rights Commission and other institutions involved in the pension redress story.

Drawing on legislation, parliamentary records, resolutions, public documents and the author’s involvement in the pension redress movement, the book explores questions of equality, constitutional rights, reconciliation, restorative justice and the restoration of pensionable service lost through discriminatory laws and practices.

The book covers:

• the historical origins of pension discrimination in South Africa;
• PSCBC Resolutions 7 of 1998 and 12 of 2002 and the pension redress programme;
• the qualifying criteria that excluded many former public servants;
• the experiences of former TBVC civil servants;
• the role of the GEPF, GPAA, DPSA and Parliament;
• petitions, parliamentary proceedings and public-record evidence;
• constitutional and human-rights arguments surrounding pension restitution;
• the Civil Servants Pension Redress Movement and its campaign for broader redress; and
• possible mechanisms for achieving a more inclusive pension restitution process.

This is a book for former public servants and their families, researchers, journalists, historians, legal and public-policy researchers, community organisations and South Africans seeking to understand the history and continuing debate surrounding pension redress.

This publication is provided for historical, research and public-interest purposes. It does not constitute legal, financial or pension advice and does not determine whether any individual qualifies for pension redress or payment.