When BP sold off its Zambian fuel marketing business in 2010 to Puma Energy, it appeared to be a fairly straightforward example of a super major dispensing with non-core assets.
For former employees of BP Zambia, though, it marked another setback in their struggle to win recognition for pensions earned.
As BP’s new CEO Bernard Looney has set out his thoughts on tackling racial injustice and a desire to help the world “build back better”, the case of ageing Zambian pensioners appears ripe for re-examination. BP denies it has any remaining liability under the case, saying that “any outstanding claims sits with the owner, Puma Energy”.
Puma was unavailable to comment on the allegations. In the sale document, the seller declared there were no “material claims, actions or disputes” on the pension scheme.
The case is fairly convoluted, with legal cases and accusations of political interference. At the heart of the story, though, is a group of people who have been neglected for a long time with no access to the money they seem to be owed.
Slow progress
There had originally been 236 of the BP Zambia employees in line for a pension, but of those around 100 have died. These employees had lost their jobs at BP Zambia between 1993 and 1999.
The pension fund was transferred in the early 1990s from Zambia State Insurance Corp. to Saturnia Regna. Employees said they had not been informed of the move. When the time came for former employees to claim their pensions, the money was not provided.
The pensioners have won four legal cases, in 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2018. No progress has been made on paying out money to the pensioners.
“British Petroleum International are legally and morally bound to settle the claim if they believe that the black Africans who worked for them were human beings who deserved the same treatment that was given to the Britons who worked for the company in Zambia,” said Expendito Chipalo, who has led the campaign against BP.
Looney’s comments in response to protests in the US over racial inequality set out the aim of “restarting the global economy in a fairer way”. The BP CEO said the way forward would be “more inclusive, sustainable and resilient. These are efforts aimed at trying to get to the root of deep inequities that exist in our society”.
He went on to list access to the basics, such as education, as a way of healing divisions.
“We take our responsibilities to our staff and pensioners seriously and are committed to treating everyone with fairness, respect and dignity,” said BP representative David Nicholas. The company became aware of the dispute in the 1990s. It appointed an independent actuarial consultant in 2000 to examine the case.
“We understand that since our exit there may have been further legal challenges in Zambia – we were not a party to these cases. We have previously – in 2018 – advised representatives of the claimants that Puma Energy are now responsible for the former BP Zambia and also provided them with appropriate contacts in Puma,” continued Nicholas.
The dispute…
Read More: BP under scrutiny over Zambian pension shortfall – News for the Oil and Gas
