M&F makes pink rand see red
2002-07-30 20:22
Johaanesburg - The Gay and Lesbian Alliance (GLA), the political voice of lesbians and gays in South Africa, would blacklist insurers Mutual & Federal as a homophobic business on its new website Pinkpages, which goes online on Saturday.
GLA president Juan-Duval Uys said on Tuesday the party was
taking this action after Mutual & Federal was forced by the Pension Funds Adjudicator (PFA) in Cape Town to pay a lesbian partner the pension benefit of her deceased lover.
The ruling confirmed that pension law in South Africa was "quite clear" on the protection of same-sex relationships regarding pension benefits.
It echoes the spirit of a recent Constitutional Court ruling
confirming a Pretoria High Court ruling that same-sex couples
should have the right to the same financial benefits as married
couples.
The Pretoria High Court had ruled that sections of the Judges'
Remuneration and Conditions of Service Act of 1989, and regulations regarding transport, travelling and subsistence, were
unconstitutional because they discriminated unfairly against
same-sex couples.
Uys said that while the ruling confirmed that pension law in
South Africa was out to protect same-sex partnerships regarding
pension benefits, "companies like Mutual and Federal try to subvert the law against interests of the needy or the marginalised".
GLA urged gay men and women not to conduct any business with
blacklisted homophobic companies.
"The lesbigay community in South Africa will use pink financial power to force homophobic businesses to rethink on their discriminatory policies," Uys said.
The GLA's new website will serve as an
aggressive weapon against "New National Party-style companies," Uys
said.
- SAPA