Mineworkers hit BCL with P770m claim
Mbongeni Mguni | Wednesday November 8, 2017 18:00
Creditors of the former copper and nickel mining giant met for the first time on Monday in Gaborone, where the liquidator, Nigel Dixon-Warren updated them on, amongst others, the process to be followed after filing and proving claims.
BCL’s closure in October last year caught many of its creditors by surprise, particularly - as some revealed yesterday - government had issued a comfort letter in December 2015 giving assurance that the mine will not close. BMWU president, Jack Tlhagale told Mmegi that the union had submitted its claim on behalf of former workers. He said the claim was based on the retrenchment agreement the union had with BCL, which provided the formula of how to pay workers in the event of the mine’s closure.
Late last October, BCL Mine liquidator, Dixon-Warren wrote to the BMWU advising that workers will be paid terminal benefits including outstanding salaries, leave, notice, severance and repatriation, but no “retrenchment package”. Workers were consequently paid the terminal benefits by December 31, 2016.
“We had an agreement with BCL to say if the mine closes, our people will be paid according to a certain formula,” Tlhagale said in an interview on the sidelines of the creditors meeting.
“That is a signed agreement. We now have to push that claim through and motivate for it. “They were supposed to have included the retrenchment agreement when they paid the terminal benefits.
“They have said the agreement does not apply in the case of liquidation. However, that agreement was part of each worker’s contract of employment and that money must be paid. We believe it’s a valid claim.”
The union leader said the issue of a retrenchment agreement had also been addressed to the Minerals Minister, who had promised to get back to the BMWU.
“We are still following up on this. Government must be held accountable,” he said.
It is expected that the union’s push for the claim could be complicated by an arrangement workers agreed to under which government funded the settlement of their terminal benefits in exchange for them handing over to government their claims against BCL.
Government has already submitted a claim against the BCL estate for the amounts it paid out to workers for their terminal benefits.
According to the Insolvency Act, any creditor who proves a claim could be required to pay a contribution towards the administration costs of BCL’s liquidation. The contributions are subject to part or whole refund, although this may not happen given projections of low recoveries at BCL, set against high claims.