01 February 2006
The Ministry of Labour has welcomed the arbitration award calling for the
dismissal of suspended Compensation Fund Commissioner Bongiwe Winifred Ncube
for misconduct, including insubordination, gross abdication of duty and
negligence.
Ms Ncube had taken the matter to the Commission for Conciliation Mediation
and Arbitration (CCMA) in June last year following her suspension in January
last year.
Charges that led to Ms Ncubeâs suspension related to her failure to deal
effectively with the backlog of claims up to December 2002, which eventually
led to litigation against the Department of Labour by the Legal Resources
Centre.
The complainant was also found to have made the Fund vulnerable to fraud by
failing to halt unjustified advance payments amounting to thousands of rand,
while the authenticity of certain claims was not properly considered.
The CCMA also found that failure to respond to or acknowledge claims
timorously had exposed the Department and the Fund to reputational risks and
financial liabilities.
The public outcry, including media reports about âinefficienciesâ within the
Fund, led to claimants approaching the Nedlac for assistance, and these were
taking place amid unsuccessful orders to Ms Ncube to prioritise responding to
queries so as to put the Minister and Director-General in a position to respond
to the public outcry, the arbitration found.
In its findings, the CCMA found that Ms Ncube had had âthroughout her
testimony, abdicated her responsibility as the head of the Fund and therefore
passing the buck to her subordinatesâ.
âInsubordination, gross dereliction of duties and gross negligence warrant
dismissalâ, the arbitration concluded.
Welcoming the arbitration outcome, Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana said
yesterday the developments meant the Fund could now continue with its programme
of improved service delivery without disturbance.
Minister Mdladlana also welcomed the CCMAâs findings that the settlement of
current claims had reduced from 80 percent to 32 percent between 4 April 2004
and February 2005 meaning that the Fund had not been managing the crisis
efficiently and that there were prospects of it being resolved.
Enquiries:
Mokgadi Pela
Cell: 082 808 2168
Issued by: Department of Labour
1 February 2006
