News24.com | Group that delivers newspapers for Independent Media months behind on pension payments

• Concerned staff at Last Mile Logistics, which delivers newspapers, say their pension fund contributions are not being paid over to the funds that administer them. 
• The group's CEO Yazeed Evans - recently also named chief executive of tech group Sagarmatha - has promised to pay all outstanding pension fund and UIF contributions by Tuesday.
• While LML staff share offices with Independent Media, Evans says they are not part of the media group.   
• For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page.

Last Mile Logistics, which delivers newspapers for Independent Media and some smaller media groups in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Western Cape, is months behind in paying staff contributions over to pension funds, concerned employees have said. 

While pension fund contributions for its 240-odd employees are being deducted from staff salaries, Last Mile Logistics is not immediately paying these over to two funds administered by Old Mutual and Sanlam. Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) payments are also behind schedule. 

Pension fund contributions are meant to be paid into funds by employers on the seventh of the month following the month for which they are due.  

But a week ago, Old Mutual wrote a letter to fund members, stating payments were 60 days late. 

"Your employer has not paid contributions into the Old Mutual Superfund since 31/01/2023," it states. 

"If your employer does not catch up on payment of contributions within the required timeframe, it may lead to your employer no longer being part of the Old Mutual Superfund."

READ | Pretoria News to merge with The Star, five other Independent titles to combine

Contributions are also late at another LML staff fund administered by Sanlam. 

If contributions are still outstanding after 90 days, pension funds are required to inform SA's financial services watchdog, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority.

"Staff are highly concerned," said an employee who asked not to be named. "Staff have written to the CEO, and the Information Communication Technology Union has queried this with the company on behalf of their members."

The issue has been brought before Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), where the ICTU is meeting with LML leadership.

Promises to pay 

Last Mile Logistics CEO, Yazeed Evans, confirmed that payments to the two pension funds, as well as UIF contributions, were late. Contributions for March and April were outstanding at both funds, he said. 

Evans promised that contributions to the two funds, as well as outstanding UIF payments, would be paid in full by Tuesday. 

"The pension fund administrators have been apprised of the payment that shall be made prior to 23 May 2023," he said. 

However, staff are wary of promises, saying that Evans has in the past promised to deal "urgently" with issues like late UIF payments, but done nothing. 

Evans, who was recently named the CEO of Sagarmatha, a technology group that falls under Sekunjalo Investment Holdings, said Last Mile Logistics was struggling due to "major declines in volumes" in print. 

"LML has also experienced delays in collections from large retailers and this further indicates the general challeng[ing] economic environment of South Africa." 

He added: "The continued load shedding has added to significantly impact on our operations on a daily basis. We wish to highlight that benefits to staff are not at risk and any interest that may have been earned by these funds are being paid by LML."

Evans did not respond to a question about why LML was, according to staff, deferring salaries. 

A staff member told News24 that employees were often told at the end of the month that LML would pay a portion of their salaries the following month. According to the staff member:

Evans denied that LML was a subsidiary of Independent Newspapers or its parent company Sekunjalo.

"Independent Newspapers is one of several newspaper customers on behalf of whom we distribute newspaper products. But it is not related as a subsidiary directly or indirectly."

Staff at LML, however, say they work side by side with Independent Media employees, even using the same payroll system. 

"The company sings till they are blue in the face that LML is not a subsidiary of Independent Newspapers, [but] the staff suspect that we are part of the Independent Newspaper [group]," said an employee. 

They told News24 that in addition to delivering Independent Media titles, LML shares infrastructure such as HR facilities, IT facilities, office space, and telephone facilities with Independent Newspapers. 

"This is not a regular company relationship for entirely separate legal entities."

LML employees say that Evans has not yet said who owns the logistics company, if it is not Independent Media. According to a staff member:

Sekunjalo head Survé, meanwhile, praised Evans as the "right person for the job" a week ago, when he was announced as the new head of Sagarmatha. 

"He has been a valuable and integral part of Last Mile Logistics and Loot’s growth, and transition," he said.