When Brenda Moikangwa from Limpopo submitted all her forms to the Metal Industries in 2011, she wasn’t aware that it could take this long to get a response.
“It’s been 3 years now that I sent all my documents and to date I have not received anything.
I tried contacting the call centre with no one assisting me” she said. She continued by saying she has been calling MIBFA Call Centre for the past month and the voice prompt will say the number doesn’t exist or when she gets through no one pick up the phone. She is not the only one; there are hundreds of them with similar problems to hers.
Wits' end
A sister to one member by the name Miss S Govender had this to say when she contacted Numsa “I am really at my wits' end as my brother cannot walk and I am working so I cannot run up and down to your office just to get an answer on progress of my brother’s claim,” She continued by saying “I would like to know what is happening and how long this claim takes to get processed. Should I not receive a positive response I will be escalating this matter to the adjudicator.”
NUMSA receives at least 250 calls a day and tries to assist member by contacting MIBFA and checking progress on their claims. MIBFA does respond to members queries even though they take time. It usually takes MIBFA approximately 3 weeks to respond on queries submitted.
“I struggled for a long while to obtain answers to my queries regarding my surplus fund pay-out. It was such a frustrating period because I would be sent from pillar to post and nobody could give me a straight answer. It was only after I contacted Numsa and they made some enquiries on my behalf that I received my pay out within a few days of contacting them. Thank you Numsa,” says Mr. Peter Marks
“Since payment began last year many former members are coming forward and registering for the first time,” says MIBFA CEO Jacques Calomiti. "We have at least 33 000 application forms which have been forwarded to the actuary he is currently finalizing surplus values where after we will send the statements to the members," he says.
MIBFA’s surplus manager, Ndanduleni Negota said they are expecting to pay at least 1.5 million members.
Every member of NUMSA can assist by spreading the word in the community and amongst family members, shop stewards should do so in their general meeting at their respective companies and in all NUMSA structures there should be talk of the surplus. Even in COSATU, SACP and ANC meetings.
Table below:'
| Members paid | |||
| Funds | No. of Members | Amount (Rm) | Average Paid |
| Engineering Industries Pension Fund (EIPF) | 14 000 | R1.1 | R79 000 |
| Metal Industries Provident Fund (MIPF) | 145 000 | R3.2 | R22 000 |
| Total | 159 000 | R4. 3 | R27 000 |
Need help?
If you want NUMSA to assist you, you can contact Caroline on (011 689 1700) or send an email to CarolineM@numsa.org.za
We call upon all former members that worked in the Metal and Engineering Industries to check if they qualify for surplus.