Reducing miner indebtedness: Anglo American Platinum’s Nkululeko initiative saving employees over R28 million annually

As the country observes National Savings Month, Anglo American recognises that high levels of employee indebtedness is an ongoing concern in the mining industry and affects many of its employees across the Group's business units. In October 2014, the Platinum business unit launched Nkululeko - which means freedom in Zulu - a financial wellness programme that is designed to assist employees in understanding and managing debt. After 18 months this programme has resulted in employees saving over R28 million annually on debt instalment, and garnishee orders have reduced by 81% from 5,877 in March 2011 to 1,088 in March 2016.

Chris Griffith, CEO of Anglo American Platinum said, 'The response and results of Nkululeko have been very encouraging. The annualised saving of R28 million is significant and we hope will encourage more employees to join the programme. Our aim is to reduce the number of garnishee orders for our employees by 50% and ensure that they are replaced with more effective and less expensive debt relief solutions which will have a direct impact on their disposable income and well-being.'

The programme is one part of the Company's commitment to investing in its employees and is conducted in partnership with Summit Financial Partners, a company that provides professional, confidential financial wellness services. Summit consultants are stationed at operations and develop personalised debt relief programmes for each employee they consult with. To date they have consulted with approximately 8,000 employees across Anglo American Platinum. One of the key reasons for indebtedness in the mining industry are garnishee and administration orders which legally compel an employer to pay an employee's debt instalments directly from salaries.

In January 2014, Anglo American Platinum, together with seven individual employees who are under administration, undertook litigation against an administrator levying excessive charges. The administrator gave notice to oppose the application and delivered her answering affidavit, raising a defence that she is not the administrator of two of the employee applicants, but that her husband is the administrator for these two applicants. As such, Anglo American Platinum brought an application to join her husband as a respondent in the application. The joinder application was heard on 18 April 2016. The party that was sought to be joined argued against the joinder and judgement has been reserved.
Anglo American Platinum remains convinced that bringing this application is important, not only for its own employees but also for the many people across South Africa who are faced with onerous and often unfair administration processes. The company will continue to pursue the action accordingly.

Nkululeko participant highlights:

Tlali Khoele, Khusuleka Mine
Tlali Khoele was born in Lesotho and started working at the gold mines in South Africa in 1980. In 2008 he joined Anglo American Platinum at Khuseleka shaft, Thembelani Mine as a stope team supervisor.

Tlali is married with three children and has two wives, although one wife has passed away. In 2012 he was already in debt, the 5-month long platinum industry strike was the one that hurt his pocket the most. Tlali was not earning a salary during the strike and the production bonuses which he was accustomed to were also not forthcoming due to the 'no-work-no-pay' principle. This exacerbated his financial problems, as he could not afford to pay off his debts nor could he send money home to ensure his children received a proper education. This also affected his wife who has since gone back to school to further her studies. During a mass meeting addressed by the General Manager, Tlali learned of Nkululeko and enrolled in the programme.
'I used to get paid well, especially when I received bonuses and when the bonuses were no longer paid I started struggling with meeting my financial obligations. For months during the strikes I could not pay my debts and they became too heavy to bear. My family was not coping, the children were unable to school the way I would have liked them to. That is when I realised I needed help and heeded the call to see a Summit consultant,' says Tlali.

Tlali's take home salary had drastically reduced because most of it was going to pay off debts. 'I could see when I got paid that so much of my salary would go towards the debts, over R6,000 would go to service my debts. I was not getting paid well enough anymore and it was time for my children to go to college. After my consultation sessions with Summit, I now pay R2,000 towards my debt and I am now able to pay college and school fees for my children, keep my car and send enough money home for food' says Tlali.He is now also able to save some money which will go towards his business which he aims to start back home in Lesotho when he retires. Tlali openly encourages his colleagues to take the bold step to consult with Summit, 'I am open about it, people hide themselves and are ashamed to be seen to be in debt. I encourage others to meet with a consultant. '

Nicolas Sifonelo, Thembelani Mine
Nicolas Sifonelo, a boiler maker at Anglo American Platinum's Thembelani mine, had struggled with managing debt for several years.

'I enjoyed my job but getting into debt caused a lot of stress and problems in my life. After all the deductions from my payslip I was left with nothing,' says Nicolas. He learned of Nkululeko through the radio and arranged a meeting with the debt counsellors at the mine to share information on their services. With their help, Nicolas was able to better understand and manage his debt obligations and resolve financial problems related to payment of his children's education and other necessities.

'Everything was explained clearly to me. What I have learned from Nkululeko is that they go out of their way to help you and enlighten you about their services. They have helped me a lot and I know I can talk to them about anything because they keep my information private,' says Nicolas. 'It makes it easy.'