ANOTHER entity of the North West Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism Department is in the spotlight for effecting deductions from its employees’ salaries but failing to pay them over to the relevant third parties.

This time, the state-owned Golden Leopard Resorts in the Pilanesberg National Park has failed to pay third-party deductions such as pension fund, insurance, and union subscriptions since 2022.

According to the Public Servants Association (PSA), the department has undertaken a budget for outstanding provident fund arrears in the new financial year, which starts on April 1, and will pay directly to Old Mutual to ensure that the matter is resolved effectively.

The union also raised concerns about members who have passed away and whose insurance policies lapsed due to non-payment.

”The PSA has demanded that the families of these members be compensated for what would have been paid out if the policies had remained active,” the union explained.

It indicated that the resorts’ management acknowledged its employees’ concerns and committed to reviewing the submitted requests and reporting in due course.

The PSA said it met with Golden Leopard Resorts management a week ago in an attempt to resolve the non-payment of third-party deductions from employees' salaries, which the union stated dates back to November 2022.

The union added that it was agreed during the meeting that payment of outstanding amounts to third parties would start with the resorts’ management committing to settle all outstanding third-party payments by the end of next month.

In addition, subscriptions have not been paid to the various recognised trade unions since July 2023, but the PSA said Golden Leopard Resorts management also committed to clearing these outstanding amounts in the new financial year (2025/26) to ensure that its employees’ union membership status remained intact.

The PSA has promised to continue monitoring progress on these commitments to ensure that workers’ interests and rights are protected.

In January, Golden Leopard Resorts failed to pay its employees’ salaries on time, which the PSA said was a recurring issue experienced by workers in the entity at the start of each year.

The union complained that employees were left in the dark on crucial issues directly affecting their working conditions and financial security.

”This neglect of employees’ needs and failure to engage in meaningful dialogue with union representatives are disappointing and unacceptable,” the union noted.

At the time, it demanded immediate action to resolve the issue of late salary payments and improve communication with employees from the entity’s management and board.

This is not the first time this year that an entity of the province’s Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism Department has faced payroll struggles.

Last month, IOL reported that the state-owned North West Parks and Tourism Board also failed to pay salaries despite making numerous commitments and promises.

Economic, Environment, Conservation and Tourism MEC Bitsa Lenkopane is yet to respond to questions on the challenges faced by Golden Leopard Resorts.

loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za

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State-owned Golden Leopard Resorts under fire for unpaid employee benefits