15 March 2006
Service delivery improvements that have characterised many government
institutions have not left the Compensation Fund (CF) behind.
Just over a year ago the CF, which compensates workers who suffer
occupational injuries or contract occupational diseases in the course of their
employment, used to accept an average 8 000 claims per month but that figure
has now more than doubled to 25 000, thanks to the improvements of the Fundâs
operations.
Over the past 12 months the CF has been silently introducing technological
changes in its business processes and systems resulting in speedier delivery to
its clients, the bulk of whom are vulnerable workers.
Not long ago, a huge backlog of claims at the CF led to litigations against
the Department of Labour by Legal Resources Centre and Compsol respectively on
behalf of frustrated claimants.
Both cases have since been resolved amicably with those problems resolved
but statistics show that those days are clearly a far cry from the CF of
today.
In September last year alone, a record 37 000 claims were adjudicated and 25
000 accepted. Simultaneously, the percentage of claims, which were accepted by
the CF in relation to the numbers worked on, has risen from approximately 30
percent to the current 76 percent.
The current status quo can largely be attributed to the appointment of the
adjudication team and the rearrangement of work processes, which has resulted
in more claims being decided upon one of the more important measures in
eradicating the claims backlog.
The Adjudication Team was formed to focus more specifically on the process
required to determine if an accident complies with the criteria set out in the
Act and establishing the liability or otherwise of the Fund to compensate the
claimant and reimburse for medical aid.
Another team, the Millennium Backlog Team that processes specifically old
claims, has so far seen the processing, payments and finalization of 25 269
claims dating back to year 2000 and backwards. The team is expected to continue
with claims reported in 2001. It is estimated that the backlog will take a
minimum of three years to clear.
The Millennium Team plays a major role in terms of identifying what
information is required and then in facilitating the receipt of the missing
information in order to be able to finalise the claim in terms of the Fundâs
obligations. This team is made up of former employees of the department who
were selected after thorough search. The most notable of these has been to
totally get rid of the temporary files backlog.
A three year strategy with a number of clear objectives is set to bolster
the speedy service delivery that the Fundâs management has introduced.
These key strategic goals aim at streamlining, reliable and business driven
automated processes to improve service delivery through appropriately trained
and capacitated staff for maximum service delivery.
The strategy will also ensure that the CF sets and meets time bound delivery
targets on all service requirements while its stakeholder education will
improve the accessibility of services to its clients.
An appropriate rising of assessments, timorous collection of all due funds
and registration of more employers features high on the strategyâs goals. A
zero tolerance, pro-active and reactive approach to all risk areas will be the
norm.
In an effort to alleviate the over worked areas and focus very specifically
on capacity building, the Fund has appointed project managers who will play a
critical role in skills transfer and mentorship to build management
capacity.
This is a strategic short term solution that will serve while the long term
organisational design and business processes are being addressed.
One critical project that has been undertaken is the office automation which
aimed at improving the entire institutionâs operations, thereby eliminating the
pitfalls of different systems and misuse of organisational resources.
Getting the organisation to work from the same IT setup has already improved
the quality of the Fundâs database, thus getting comprehensive and reliable
information covering all important aspects of the business
One critical area of backlog that has been tackled vigorously as well has
been the payment of compensation to the more vulnerable section of the
workforce: the injured workers. The workflow in the compensation section has
been reengineered to pay compensation claims more effectively and speedily.
From August last year there has been a dramatic escalation in the payments
of compensation from a low of 2 974 to a high of 5 247 payments by November a
43 percent improvement.
These payment improvements also include those in the medical profession
where processing of medical claims has improved from 129 days on average to 110
days.
The additional medical professionals that have been employed from December
2005 are expected to substantially improve the quality of medical assessment
and shorten the delays even further.
The Compensation Fund has also set up a call centre that is set to improve
the quick response to public enquiries and make the Fund more accessible to its
stakeholders. A public outreach programme is scheduled to start at the
beginning of next month.
This programme will be a national road show to inform the public and
stakeholders about the services of the Compensation Fund and how to access
those services.
The Compensation Fund has still got some long way to go before efficient and
quick service delivery, but the experience of the last twelve months has shown
that the Fund is on the track to deliver fully and efficiently on its
mandate.
Enquiries:
Mokgadi Pela
Cell: 082 808 2168
Issued by: Department of Labour
15 March 2006
