UIF drive goes to Mpumalanga

© Vitaliy Vodolazskyy – 123RF.com

The purpose of Friday’s session is to unpack and engage workers and employers in the private security sector about the Unemployment Insurance Act, which was amended and came into effect in January.

The amendments in the act allow workers to claim for up to 365 days instead of 238 if they worked for a continuous four-year period. Workers undergoing learnership training will be eligible for unemployment benefits once their contract ends.

Another amendment is that benefits are paid from the date of unemployment, instead of the application date; workers will have 12 instead of six months to claim for unemployment benefits, and maternity benefits will be paid at a 66% fixed rate.

The Department of Labour will also present on the National Minimum Wage (NMW), which came into effect in January, while the Compensation Fund (CF) will deliberate on the proposed amendments to the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases (COID) bill.

The NMW Act stipulates that R20 is the minimum rate workers should earn per hour. For farm and forestry workers, the rate is R18 per hour, domestic workers R15.00 per hour and for Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP), it is R11 per hour.

Imperial case

Meanwhile, the Imperial Logistics Construction Structural collapse inquiry appointed by the Department of Labour to investigate the causes of the collapse of a building in Jacobs, Durban, is to set to start its second session in March.

Expected to take a stand is Robert Wilkens, an expert witness from Benrob Construction.

The inquiry is sitting at KwaZulu-Natal Master Builders Association offices, 40 Essex Terrace, Westville.

The inquiry was established following the collapse on 28 March 2018, which led to the death of four workers - Bhekuyise Moses Sibiya, France Mokhuthu Sekalu, Constandino Mapukula and Siyabonga Bhane. Four other employees were injured.

According to the Department of Labour, Echo Prestress, a precast roofing company, was busy with the final installation of the concrete precast roof slab. The precast concrete structure collapsed, resulting in the deaths and injury of workers.

The Section 32 inquiry first sat in January, where six expert witnesses were quizzed. Twenty-two witnesses are lined up to testify before the commission.

The affected parties in the Jacobs building collapse incident include: Imperial Logistics, Tilt Up SA, Talmac Engineering, ECHO Precast, Bedrock Construction, Archi Studio, JDF Construction, Moedi Engineering, Benrob Construction, and ECHO Prestress.