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The Department of Employment and Labour pays out R1.1 billion for workers to benefit
23 April 2020
The Department of Employment and Labour announced that it had paid out a cumulative R1.1 billion to beneficiaries of the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). The Minister of Employment and Labour, Thulas Nxesi said that this is in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and will provide relief for workers who no longer receive an income or are required to take annual leave as a result of the lockdown.
According to Nxesi, the UIF has received over 55 000 applications from employers representing about 1 601 767 employees. In total, the UIF has more than 1.8 million employers registered on its database representing more than 8 million workers. They have been working around the clock to meet the extraordinary volumes of requests for assistance. To date, according to a statement released by the department, the UIF has processed 37 673 employer applications which meant 606 462 employees would receive their benefit. About 9 938 applications could not be processed due to errors. The affected companies have been notified to correct and resubmit their applications.
The UIF has asked the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to work with them to resolve the backlog they are currently experiencing. SARS has responded positively and are sending a team to work with the UIF to ensure that they distribute funds to deserving beneficiaries as swiftly and cost-efficiently as possible. The UIF is equally engaged with other private sector companies to enhance the capacity of their IT system in response to the growing number of requests.
As part of being more responsive to claimants, the UIF call centre, which initially had 75 agents, has increased its capacity to 200 agents manning the toll-free number 0800 030 007. Employers can apply by visiting www.ufiling.co.za or contact the UIF on 0800 030 007.
Originally written by Sizwe Dlamini, IOL
