Municipalities cautioned to comply with the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act or face penalties - Employment and Labour (NW)
Currently, only 18 percent of municipalities in the North West are compliant with the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA). This was said at the two-day seminar hosted by the Compensation Fund in partnership with the North West Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), focusing on municipalities’ compliance with COIDA.
Speaking at the seminar Bheki Ngcobo, Director: Employer Services said the country has a total of 267 municipalities registered with the Compensation Fund (CF) and only 55% of them were compliant. He said in the North West, 20 out of 22 were registered with the Fund and their compliance level was at 18%. “The level of compliance by municipalities, in general, is a worrying factor and it can expose the vulnerable employees to unnecessary circumstances; and also has dire consequences to the municipalities that include penalties payable by non-compliant employers”, said Ngcobo.
Ngcobo further informed seminar attendees that municipalities, as employers, have the obligation to register with the Fund as soon as they employ one or more employees, to accurately declare the nature of their business and report all the accidents in the workplace.
Delivering the message of support to the initiative that CF has embarked on in advocating for municipalities to comply with COIDA, both COGTA and SALGA urged municipalities to improve their compliance in order to protect their employees.
“Municipalities should work towards total compliance with COIDA in order to protect the vulnerable workers. As SALGA we support this initiative by CF and appreciate the Fund for being proactive” said Dr Malebogo Mogotsi, Senior Advisor: Human Resource, Labour Relations and Dispute Resolution at SALGA.
SALGA’s sentiments were also shared by COGTA. Delivering the message of support from COGTA, Elizabeth Mmutle – Acting Chief Director: Local Governance, encouraged municipalities to comply and pay their dues in order to avoid litigations and related financial implications. “compliance should be non-negotiable and municipalities should appoint qualified experienced officials for this function” said Mmutle.
The Compensation Fund is an entity of the Department of Employment and Labour and it exists to administer the COID Act. Its main objective is to provide compensation for disablement, illness and death resulting from occupational injuries and diseases.
This seminar is held under the theme: “Compensation Fund working with municipalities on COIDA to protect vulnerable workers”. It will continue until tomorrow, Wednesday the 07 September 2022 in Rustenburg. It is targeted at Municipality officials including Municipal Managers, Chief Financial Officers and officials responsible for Corporate Services and Human resources. Amongst others, the programme includes the registration and assessment processes; municipal exemption; compensation benefits; CompEasy registration; query resolution processes.
Media enquiries:
Hlonitshwa Mpaka
Cell: 072 670 5464
E-mail: hlonitshwa.mpaka@labour.gov.za
Dineo Thapelo
Cell: 072 218 2559
E-mail: dthapelo@nwpg.gov.za
Thotoane Shale
Cell: 0762418515
E-mail: tshale@salga.org.za
