Expand UIF’s capacity, requests FF Plus

15 April 2020

The need among unemployed people in South Africa as well as those who are unable to work and earn an income due to the national lockdown is taking on critical dimensions. The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) must remain transparent and responsive in this time, despite being inundated with claims and queries, when it comes to the processing, payment and feedback of claims. It, however, appears as if the UIF is struggling to cope with all the claims and queries.

The UIF is still struggling to catch up on the backlog of payments to be made for claims that were filed before the lockdown period commenced. People who usually claim from the UIF have still not received their normal monthly payment for March/April this year.

Many new claims relating to the Covid-19 relief fund have also been filed. And the UIF apparently does not have the capacity to process and finalise these claims in good time. This means that the UIF is in effect contributing to the social crisis in which many people in South Africa currently find themselves.

The FF Plus is of the opinion that the UIF must be provided with more staff members and resources so as to process the claims and finalise the associated administration as quick as possible so that payments can be made promptly.

Staff members from other departments, i.e. those who are currently not working as essential workers and whose skills enable them to work temporarily at the UIF, must be transferred to the fund for the time being.

The Department of Labour must regularly provide feedback on the state of affairs at the UIF so that the people have a clear picture of how many claims have been filed, how many have been processed and when they can expect a pay-out.

At present, South African employers and employees are all in the dark with regard to the progress, if any, being made with their claims. Proper communication from the UIF is vital. The UIF has made a helpline available, but all the complaints state that there is either no answer or that callers have to hold the line for more than an hour before they are attended to. If the UIF's capacity is expanded, queries can be handled much more effectively as well.

Issued by Heloïse Denner, FF Plus MP and chief spokesperson: Labour, 15 April 2020