Thousands of workers have left their jobs in a mad rush to cash their pension money before new tax laws signed into law by President Jacob Zuma come into effect.
And they are continuing to quit in droves. This prompted Cosatu to meet National Treasury on Monday for the first time since the uproar.
By September last year about 4000 government workers were resigning per month to cash their pensions, according to the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF).
More than 89000 public servants - mostly police, nurses and teachers - have resigned since the Taxation Law Amendment Bill to regulate their pensions was introduced last year. It was signed into law this year.
Of these more than 3000 left this year to cash in their pensions . These startling statistics were revealed yesterday by Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini , ahead of a special meeting on the matter by Cosatu's top brass.
Dlamini told Sowetan that the panic caused by the new laws - largely in the public sector - was a serious concern.
"We have met Treasury already on Monday. We will not discuss the outcome in public. There would still be more meetings. The public should know that Cosatu has started engaging with the government over this issue. It is too early talk about the outcomes," he said.
Government employs over 1.3 million workers, while (GEPF) has 1.2 million members with assets worth R1-trillion.
Cosatu has threatened a massive march against the new pension laws unless the government scraps them.
The new laws would see workers able to cash in only one-third of their pensions, with the rest put into annuities.
The issue has worsened the already strained relations between the SA Communist Party and Cosatu, and workers are also accusing Zuma's office of lying about the process that led to the law.
Cosatu's meeting with Treasury follows a recent meeting with ANC officials, during which it was agreed that workers' views would be heard.
The federation has threatened that it might not campaign for the ANC during the local elections over the issue.
Cosatu is also pressing Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini to come up with a comprehensive social security plan to cushion workers when they lose their jobs, to ensure they don't depend on state pensions. Dlamini said Cosatu's course of action would depend on the negotiations with the Treasury.
