Far-reaching changes are in the pipeline for the Compensation Fund, which will eventually incorporate the Compensation Commission for Occupational Diseases that is currently the responsibility of the Department of Health.
The Compensation Fund, which falls under the Department of Labour, is being restructured and is attempting to wipe out its backlog of 60,000 cases, department director-general Thobile Lamati said at a media briefing on Tuesday held for Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant to launch Workers Month on May 1.
Lamati said the current backlog consisted of old cases, many of which were not processed because of incomplete documentation.
The Compensation Fund has been plagued by problems of poor administration, archaic computer systems and a mountain of unpaid claims that have left workers destitute and hospital bills unpaid.
Lamati said the Compensation Fund was "progressing well" and was able to pay claims. The plan is to restructure the fund’s business into three divisions: compensation benefits and pensions; medical services; and disability and rehabilitation.
The structure has been approved and the Department of Labour is engaging with unions on restructuring the organisation, though no retrenchments will be necessary.
Oliphant noted that the commission’s backlog was estimated in 2016 to be about 700,000 unpaid claims, many related to former mine workers suffering from lung diseases who were difficult to trace.
This backlog will have to be cleared before a merger of the Compensation Fund and the commission’s was undertaken, Oliphant stressed. She said the deputy ministers of labour, health and mineral resources were working on a plan for the integration of the two entities.
Lamati gave notice that amendments to the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) act were envisaged to provide benefits to employees who resign.
The UIF act and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act will also be amended to provide fathers with paternity leave benefits.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.