labour federations COSATU, SAFTU, FEDUSA and NACTU have called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene
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South Africa’s main labour federations COSATU, SAFTU, FEDUSA and NACTU have called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to urgently intervene in the country’s Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and Compensation Fund, warning of deepening failures in both institutions.
This comes after recent reports revealed the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has uncovered irregularities linked to parts of the UIF’s COVID-19 Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme, including fraudulent and improper claims processed during the pandemic period.
In a joint statement released to the media, the unions said the revelations confirm long-standing concerns about weak controls and governance failures within the UIF.
"In addition, the long queues and inefficiencies the UIF is notorious for persist unabated," the unions said.
"Young women speak of the indecency of trying to avoid exposing themselves while breastfeeding their newborns, all the while standing in snaking queues outside labour centres, waiting for their chance to apply for maternity benefits, only to be told the system is offline sometimes late in the afternoon when they finally reach the front of the queue".
The unions also said that administrative and system failures at the UIF continue to prevent many workers from accessing benefits they are legally entitled to.
They argued that the ongoing breakdown of the uFiling system has worsened the situation, forcing claimants to rely on physical visits to labour offices, where they often face repeated delays.
The unions also slammed the Compensation Fund, saying injured workers and dependants of deceased employees are facing long delays in receiving payments due to backlogs, weak administration and ongoing system failures.
"The crises in these funds cannot be sanitised any longer while workers are not receiving their income relief on time, if at all, whilst the high cost of living continues to rise. "Organised Labour demands that CF and the UIF should be empowered with the authority to make real changes and improvements and not be merely advisory as they are currently. Additionally, the long overdue amendments to the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA) must be expedited to strengthen governance, accountability and oversight".
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