[ad_1]
Labor and Employment Minister Thulas Nxesi told parliamentarians on Wednesday that the Unemployment Insurance Fund had found cases where employers attempted to claim in excess of their special Covid-19 coverage, but that employees should not suffer as a result during tough economic times.
Nxesi was addressing a joint meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labor in the National Assembly and the Select Committee on Trade and Industry, Economic Development, Small Business Development, Tourism, Employment and Labor in the National Council of Provinces.
The FIU cushions the impact of unemployment through contributions made by members while they are salaried. It introduced a special coronavirus fund that allows employers to pay lossless wages during the end of April.
Vulnerable businesses
The breach underscores the tight balance the government must strike between enforcing compliance and guaranteeing penalties for not closing vulnerable businesses and leaving employees out of work.
The blockade, which seeks to control the spread of the highly infectious coronavirus, has caused companies that are not included in essential services to work remotely or close their doors until the restriction is lifted.
On Tuesday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa said he would introduce measures including tax relief, the release of disaster relief funds, the emergency acquisition, salary support through the FIU and financing for small businesses to respond to the economic impact of Covid-19.
Ramaphosa added that the FIU’s Covid-19 special benefit had paid R1.6 billion at the close of business on Tuesday, which would help more than 37,000 companies and 600,000 workers.
Nxesi told lawmakers during a webinar that the system was effective in detecting misleading and non-compliance claims, but the department did not seek to punish employers during the delicate shutdown period because “the employer’s sins will not be visited by employees.” .
“Covid-19 benefit claims have registered noncompliance by some employers. Some claim against a larger number of employees who are actually employed. We are picking that up. We hold them back, call people and tell them it may not happen here. “
Nxesi said the FIU was also paying close attention to its work with bargaining councils in sectors where employees were not contributing to ensure that their wages could be paid during the shutdown without loss to employers.
Finalizing payments
“We are finalizing payments for the bargaining councils in the textile, hospitality and metal sectors. In this regard, the councils are getting involved. The highway and freight bargaining council has paid R150 million to the workers and we will pay that amount. to employers through the FIU. “
The director general of the labor and employment department, Thobile Lemati, assured parliamentarians that the FIU was not open to being defrauded by criminals as the set of requirements for a claim required verifiable updated information.
“You can only process claims that are competent. By dealing with banks and healthcare schemes, we abide by their rules and guidelines. This is why we had to return all claims that do not meet the requirements.”
Lemati said employers of the clothing and textile bargaining council, whose workers do not contribute to the FIU, received R28 million for 67 employers, allowing them to pay wages during the lockout.
Cosatu’s Parliamentary Liaison Officer Matthew Parks said employers who abused the system should face the full power of the law, as some employers had already been caught for contributing little to the FIU before the coronavirus outbreak.
“If there is someone who claims too much, the government must enforce the rule of law. What we have been told in Nedlac [National Economic Development and Labour Council] is that many employers have been surprised by not having contributed to the FIU and have contributed insufficiently before the outbreak. “
Parks said he was concerned about the “lack of urgency” on several fronts when it came to the FIU, including Covid-19’s lack of awareness among employers and relatively low disbursement rates.
