Public Protector to investigate poor service at compensation office - Solidarity

14 April 2015

The Office of the Public Protector will investigate the poor service delivery of the Compensation Commissioner, the trade union Solidarity announced today. Solidarity requested the investigation as a total collapse in service delivery is experienced at the compensation fund. Almost 3 000 petitions have been received from the public in which the Compensation Commissioner is requested to provide a proper compensation service to workers.

Solidarity and various institutions representing medical practitioners compiled a memorandum at an emergency meeting in March, requesting the Commissioner, inter alia, to take urgent and immediate steps to improve the service delivery from his office. However, the Commissioner did not respond to the memorandum within the stipulated period and denounced Solidarity's campaign in the media as being ""dramatic"".

Paul Mardon, head of Solidarity's division for occupational health and safety, said the compensation fund's failure to provide a proper service undermined the fundamental constitutional rights of employees that sustained occupational injuries or contracted occupational diseases.

With more than 200 000 cases of occupational injuries and diseases reported to the Compensation Commissioner every year, employees and their families are the ones suffering the most from the failure of the team at the office of the Compensation Commissioner. Solidarity requests the Public Protector to ensure, during his discussions with the Department of Labour, that the rights and dignity of these workers are protected and promoted,"" Mardon said. 

Mardon said the biggest problem with the compensation office and its new system is that claimants from the compensation fund often have to wait for years to have their claims processed. This results in huge delays in the settlement of medical bills and in the calculation and payment of compensation for temporary and permanent disablement.

Neither do patients receive written approval for chronic medication and reopening any longer, nor can medical service providers print the electronic approvals if they should appear on their systems. This also applies to prostheses, hearing aids and other medical devices.

Statement issued by Paul Mardon, Head: Occupational Health and Safety, Solidarity, April 14 2015