TEBA was established more than a century ago, post the second Anglo-Boer War in 1902, to support mines in meeting one of our country’s key national priorities: to expand mineral production. Initially, TEBA's role was solely focused on the recruitment of mining personnel.
In the late 1970s, TEBA and the mines introduced an industry-first incentive scheme to reward short-term contract workers for opting to make mining a full-time occupation. This contributed significantly to stabilising a more readily available pool of skills in the SA mining industry.
TEBA Cash was established in the mid-80s which fulfilled a two-tier role. On the one hand, it reduced admin for the mines by replacing their Paymaster system and ensuring an alternative means to pay mineworkers. On the other hand, it provided cost-effective banking services, plus a much-needed savings facility for the mineworkers and their families.
By ±1980, the SA mines managed to obtain a 100% staff complement for the first time, and by 1987, no less than 500 000 of those workers were recruited by TEBA, from various countries in Southern Africa.
TEBA reached a major historical milestone in 2005, when the company was bought over by Dr James Motlatsi, one of the fathers of organised labour in the country. As the first black owner of the company, Dr Motlatsi spearheaded a transformation strategy to correct mining legacy issues from the past and place the company on course towards its new mission: fully unlocking human potential.
As a condition of his offer to purchase TEBA from the original owners, Dr Motlatsi insisted that 25% of the shares of TEBA be transferred to its employees. As a result, the TEBA Employee Trust (TET) was formally established in 2006, providing a way for TEBA employees to become co-owners and create long-term wealth prospects for themselves.
In 2010, TEBA partnered with the Ministries of Health in Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa and Swaziland to establish a dedicated programme for the delivery of TB screening, testing and treatment for miners, ex-miners, and mining communities in Southern Africa. To date, more than 600 000 patients have been successfully registered on the programme.
Statistics show that mineworkers and their families are at high risk of exposure to TB and HIV/AIDS, with a disproportionate incidence rate of 2 500 to 3 000 people to every 100 000 that by far surpasses the World Health Organization (WHO) threshold of 250 people to every 100 000. In 2013, TEBA was appointed to establish Point of Care (POC) Clinics to alleviate this issue, with funding from the URCSA, and support from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), as well as the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
According to ODMWA, mineworkers who contract occupational diseases at the mines are entitled to compensation, and mining employers are responsible for their lifelong monitoring and surveillance for possible compensable occupational lung diseases. Due to its large database and presence in the mining communities, TEBA was commissioned by the mines in 2016 to track down ex-miners. As a result, more than 3 000 miners, ex-miners, and their beneficiaries have been successfully traced and assisted with claiming benefits.
On 12 April 2016, TEBA, on behalf of participating mines, entered a MoU with the Mozambique Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MITESS), and the Bank of Mozambique (BM) to collect, transfer and pay deferred wages to migrant Mozambican mineworkers in South Africa. This new arrangement counteracted former issues and fast-tracked payment of deferred wages for these mineworkers.