Thungela’s Sisonke Employee Empowerment Scheme (“Sisonke” or the “Scheme”) will pay its first allocation of R387 million to employees in December this year. This first disbursement is based on the dividends declared for the 2021 full year results as well as the 2022 half year results. More than 3500 employees are set to benefit.
Formerly termed the Employee Partnership Plan (EPP), Sisonke will now be referred to as the Employee Empowerment Scheme. Sisonke, is an isiZulu word meaning ‘we are together’. The name was decided through a staff competition and is reflective of the company’s purpose.
“This is a milestone for the business and indeed all eligible Thungela employees. It is testament to Thungela’s vision to responsibly create value together for a shared future,” says Paulos Soviya, chairman of Sisonke’s board of trustees.
“The intention of Sisonke is to ensure that one of the most important stakeholders, Thungela employees meaningfully benefit from the growth and profits of the business. We are proud and humbled that this is a reality. Thungela employees and their families will benefit from the commitment and hard work that has contributed to our success and we thank them for their contribution,” said executive head of human resources, Lesego Mataboge.
“The successful launch of Sisonke Employee Empowerment Scheme is because of fruitful engagement between the employer, National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the board of trustees. We are confident that Sisonke will create real benefits for employees,” said employee representative Bongani Mahungela.
The Scheme has been set up as a trust, which is a legal entity. The trust owns 5% of Thungela’s South African Coal Operations Pty (SACO) and is entitled to receive 5% of the dividends that may be paid out by SACO. The board of trustees includes 50% employee and 50% employer representation. The benefits of the trust are shared, equally among all eligible employees on the beneficiary register after taxes and other expenses have been paid to administer the trust.
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Wayne Mokhethi
wayne.mokhethi@thungela.com
073 894 7689
Tarryn Genis
tarryn.genis@thungela.com
082 324 4650