Workers are battling to collect unemployment benefits despite new technology
UIF App and phone-in system launched in September
Queues of people trying to claim UIF and get help for other issues are almost a permanent feature outside the labour department offices in Cape Town. Photo: Qaqamba Falithenjwa
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Briefing Parliament in September last year, Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) Commissioner Teboho Maruping promised a new app would make claiming from the fund much easier.
- He said unemployment benefits should take 15 days to process.
- The app and a free phone-in system were launched on 4 September.
- But claimants GroundUp spoke to said they were still struggling to access their benefits.
People who have lost their jobs or are on maternity leave are struggling to access money owed to them by the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) which they were compelled to contribute to while employed.
Those claiming UIF have been frustrated by the Department of Employment and Labourâs online registration system through which UIF is claimed. The system often reflects incorrect information or does not allow people to register as claimants.
In September last year UIF commissioner Teboho Maruping told Parliamentâs Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) that a new UIF app allowing people to lodge claims online would reduce the lines at labour centres. He said unemployment benefits should take 15 days to process âif everything required was in placeâ.
The app and a new phone-in system (USS) were launched on 4 September. Maruping said then that this would âpromote greater self-service for clients, reduce long queues in the labour centres and alleviate pressure on officialsâ.
âWe are moving with the times to create a better, more capable UIF that leverages technology to respond to challenges on the ground and changes in the external environment,â he said.
But people interviewed by GroundUp queuing outside the labour departmentâs office in Plein Street, Cape Town on 7 December still said they were struggling to obtain their UIF benefits.
Sandisa Mtshula, a welder from Delft, said she had submitted her UIF claim in October, when she went into the departmentâs office and had her documents scanned.
Mtshula said a month later she had received an SMS stating âthe systemâ had no record of her documents. She had returned in person âfour or five timesâ to sort matters out, but because of long queues she had not been able to get inside again. On 7 December she expected to once again go home empty-handed. âCome back at five, Iâll still be here, I wonât be inside,â she said.
She said she didnât know what she was supposed to do.
Alitta Twesi, who had travelled to the city centre from Khayelitsha, said she had been unemployed for five months after working for a cleaning company.
âI have been coming to the offices about four to five times and they keep telling me I must apply online, but the online system doesnât work,â said Twesi. âEvery time I try submitting an application online it always refuses to click âregisterâ.â
As a result, she said, she was trying to get in-person service.
It was about 11am when GroundUp spoke to her, and she said she had been waiting outside the departmentâs office since 7.30am without getting inside.
There were about 40 other people waiting to get into the building to receive assistance.
Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) and trade union federation COSATU, among others, have called for the UIF to be placed under administration.
âThe systemic dysfunction has also resulted in lengthy delays in application processes, including via online systems, receiving incorrect information, or constant changes in requirements,â wrote BUSA in a public statement.
âPayments, when finally processed, are typically received long after the period of lost earnings, providing little financial support when needed most,â stated BUSA.
The UIF media office asked for multiple extensions when GroundUp requested information. Nearly a week after initially emailing them, no response has been received.
Letters
Dear Editor
I applied with the normal portal before this new app was launched - it is the same old system I have used since February 2023 and I'm still waiting. I escalated my case to the top management. Nothing. Their system is dysfunctional.
Dear Editor
After my husband passed away in October 2022, my employment contract also expired. Still grieving, I couldn't even consider looking for a new job so I went back to school to complete my matric. During this time I applied online for UIF for myself as well as the death benefit as my late husband was still employed when he died. It has been over a year since applying for my UIF and about 8 months since applying for the death benefit. After many calls, escalations, emails, I am still waiting for approval and payout.
I contacted a labour consultant who, after looking at my employment status on the UIF portal, told me that the UIF system has not been updated and that I was still employed by my two previous employers. How is that possible when all the relevant paperwork was submitted?
I have had to rely on the kindness of others to support me during this time. I feel so let down by the system. I have been a UIF contributor for over 30 years. This is the first time in 25 years that I have had to apply for assistance. I guess being a faithful contributor means nothing today.
Dear Editor
I lost my job in November 2023. I applied for benefits online in January 2024 which were approved exactly a month later. But till today, 2 April 2024, I have not received payment. When I call the call centre, they say they are escalating but have no feedback. When I go to their Durban office, they tell me to sign something, so now I have signed two times without getting payment.
I could be using this money to look for employment and cover some of the expenses, but that is not happening.
Dear Editor
I am sure something is happening in the department and nobody is going to tell the truth. Either there's no money or the system is broken. How can they take so long to pay out the unemployed people?
Last week we were at the Bellville office. The system was off for three consecutive days! People are wasting their last Money to take taxis to various departments for their money and yet get no money. The system is failing all of us, and the President is doing nothing. Is he the party president or the people's president?
Dear Editor
I have applied for UIF and every time thereâs a new excuse and always a wait for 7-14 days. I have been waiting for my money since Jan 2024 and up till today I have received nothing! I continuously have to submit other documents that they require, but all my documents were in order. Iâm so gatvol of this place, but as soon as you work then they deduct the money without hesitation. I need my money! I have five children and I have been unemployed for 8 months now
Dear Editor
I stopped working in 2019 due to illness. I applied online for UIF in 2020 and I am still waiting - it's now April 2024. All the correct documents was sent to them many times. The call centre is not much help.
I get the same response when I phone them (every second week): "Your claim has not been approved yet."
Dear Editor
I was retrenched in 2023. I claimed via the portal and even escalated. Nothing. No response after paying UIF contributions for years and years. Itâs now seven months with no income. I really donât know what to do.
Dear Editor
I lost my job in September 2022. I submitted my documents within four days. Every time I call to get feedback, I am advised that no feedback has been received and I am told by the agent that they will escalate the issue. I am so frustrated! I have spent hundreds on phone calls and still no UIF funds received. Why does UIF get deducted off the salary if it is such a hassle to claim?
Beyond frustrated.
Dear Editor
It is very sad that no one is addressing this matter. South Africa's unemployment rate is scary but still no one cares. UIF is to reduce poverty but does the opposite. Thirty years ago you would fill in a paper and get all your money within three days - now despite all the necessary technology, you wait 30 years for your money from UIF! They should stop deducting UIF from us, because it's useless.
Dear Editor
My completed documents were accepted by the UIF offices on 4 July 2024, and I was asked to come back 5 August 2024. The consultant informed that my claim is "call logged" and I still do not understand what it means. Apparently my illness benefits say "cancelled by assessor". I called the call center and they are at a complete loss on my claim.
I have sent numerous emails and not even got a response. No return phone calls, no SMS, and no reply from my emails. Being a cancer patient, I am left without a cent to even pay my rent or buy my groceries. It's become too stressful now and I cannot even go back to work due to my illness. The online portal is also of no use - seems noting is working. I will be getting evicted soon and have nowhere to go.
Dear Editor
It's been nine months now since I retired, and every month I have to spend more than R100 to go to UIF offices personally to ensure my money is received.
The online system will say my claim is approved and sent to paymaster, but the paymaster does not automatically release the funds unless you go in person and queue for hours to see the paymaster.
Why does the paymaster not go online and approve and release funds?
I am 64 years old and struggling physically and financially and it is costing me to go in every month.
Dear Editor
Since April, five months down the line, I only received one payment after nine visits to the UIF offices. Each time the person at the teller tells you to come back after 10 days. It seems these people do not know their work. Standing from 07:00 till 14:00, and they take your ID number three times when you sit behind the table. They look into the computer and then tell you come back after two weeks if you did not receive your money. Same story after two weeks again!
Dear Editor
I went to the Department of Labour in Boksburg for the first time this morning. I am sorry but the slogan and values as well as the vision of the department fall very short of all stated.
My experience was the security outside treating people with disrespect: they donât help or explain when asked a question. They look down on the people who have fallen on hard times due to the closure of companies; it's not their fault they donât have jobs. But to make them feel even less worthless is not appropriate. Eventually when at the counter the person driving the computer has the attitude of âI'm doing you a favourâ and not as the slogan says âWorking for you.â A lot is desired when dealing with people who are desperate for help - it could lead to horror.
Once they accept the information you provide, they make you give personal information to the security guard who has no idea what he needs to do with it! The information on the said form has already been submitted electronically per the so-called system or procedure, so why? (POPI Act not worried about!)
This is one more broken Government department that canât help. It is sad to see people with the want and will to work be treated like this. Below are the "Mission and Values", and I am sure no one other than the person who wrote it saw it. Not one other person. Every one of the below listed is a fail at the Boksburg branch. All big words but not understood by the workers.
Mission and Values:
Regulate the South African labour market for a sustainable economy through:
Appropriate legislation and regulations
Inspection, compliance monitoring and enforcement
Protection of human rights
Provision of Employment Services
Promoting equity
Social and income protection
Social dialogue.
We treat employees with care, dignity and respect
We respect and promote:
Client centred services
Accountability
Integrity and ethical behaviour
Learning and development
We live the Batho Pele Principles
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