Thousands of mineworkers have been affected by mounting debt and growing garnishee orders. The prospect of financial freedom often seems unattainable, a problem that mining company, Anglo American is addressing through its employee indebtedness programme.

Since the inception of the programme, Anglo American together with its partners, has helped employees save over R3 million, which would otherwise have been consumed by garnishee orders. In fact, the financial wellbeing solution has managed to reduce debt commitments from 54% to 28% of net income, resulting in a monthly improvement in disposable income of roughly R3 000 per month per employee.  

Patrick Morutlwa, general manager at Anglo American Platinum’s Dishaba mine, is one of several managers who are driving this programme across Anglo American in South Africa. The programme aims to help employees become debt free and financially more stable. It ultimately improves productivity, and contributes to the wellbeing of employees, their families and communities.    

“We came to realise that indebtedness was an issue for employees at our Dishaba mine, after the 2014 strike, when most of our colleagues asked for an advance on their pay. We did an in-depth analysis and realised that colleagues incurred significant debt during the five-month strike.” This was a serious problem and required a targeted, holistic approach. Anglo American, in partnership with a specialised service provider, developed an employee indebtedness programme, which promotes financial literacy and responsible management on a much personalised level on the one hand and addresses the issue of unscrupulous lenders on the other. This programme has enabled employees to regain control of their finances and alleviate the negative impact that debt has on their lives.  

Patrick believes that the impact of debt is damaging to employees’ morale, “Mining is a safety business. So we have to be switched on at all times. But when employees are taking home low income, you can’t expect them to be fully focused and at the same time think about how they’re going to take care of their families.”  

He says it is not only employees who suffer. The consequences of this excessive debt spirals into financial and emotional distress for their families and communities, often negatively impacting labour relations when the debt becomes unmanageable.  

Patrick urges employees to play their part by being upfront when faced with financial difficulties. “These problems affect productivity and safety at work, which also impacts team work. The onus is on the employee to come forward because help is here,” he says.  

Indebtedness is not only confined to those on lower pay scales. “This is a problem that transcends all levels of income,” says Patrick. “It has nothing to do with levels of income. It is a common problem because some of the people that enrolled for this programme were chief supervisors who are getting good pay but are having these issues. It’s a national problem, the more people earn the more they find themselves in debt.”  

Andile Sangqu, Executive Head of Anglo American in South Africa says, “While employee indebtedness is a national issue prevalent across the pay scale, the mining industry is particularly affected. It is for this reason therefore, that as a Group, we took the decision to launch a programme that would see our employees fully rehabilitated from debt. By helping them reduce and eliminate their debt, we believe that the quality of their lives and that of their families would improve.”  

Sarah Motuka is an Anglo American Platinum employee who found herself on the receiving end of numerous bank loans and the trappings of never ending debt. She is also a sole breadwinner and has three children to raise whilst her spouse is currently unemployed.  

“The programme is the best thing that has ever happened to me. For the first time in my life my salary is all mine. I feel like I have been given a new lease on life and I’m so thankful,” says Sarah.  

With South Africans recently being labelled as the world’s biggest borrowers by the World Bank, Patrick sees the indebtedness programme as the way organisations should be supporting their employees. “We’re not going to rest until the majority of our employees are financially independent. It’s a journey, it’s not going to take a year or two, but it’s a start.”  

With Anglo American’s indebtedness programme in place, a new generation of employees will be trained on financial management.