UIF pays over R7 Million to 1746 former Educator Assistants and General Assistants in Kwazulu-Natal

The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), an entity of the Department of Employment and Labour, has processed and paid out R7,7 million to 1746 former Educator Assistants and General Assistants who reside within the area of the Amajuba District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal Province.

Payments were made between 21-25 November, as part of a project and build-up activities to the recent District Development Model (DDM) Imbizo that was led by Employment and Labour Minister, Thulas Nxesi.

The former Educator Assistants were employed as part of the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI), which was implemented as the Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI) across all nine provinces in the country to reduce youth unemployment in the country.

When their contracts ended, the former employees qualified to claim unemployment benefits from the UIF. Due to the large volume of claims anticipated and to prevent long queues at Labour Centres, the UIF team in KwaZulu-Natal met with the Provincial Department of Education in Amajuba and agreed on a consolidated approach. This included the Department availing venues while the Fund confirms the compliance of the former workers in terms of their employment history, declarations, and contributions.

“After confirming the UIF compliance of the Education Assistants and General Assistants, we started visiting the venues availed by the Department of Education to process and pay the claims. The process was easy and without hiccups because we had already confirmed the employment history, contributions and declarations. All the claims were made without any paperwork from clients because they used their smartphones to access the uFiling system and apply for benefits,” said Gugu Khomo, the UIF Deputy Director in KwaZulu-Natal.

Nomthandazo Bophela, a former Educator Assistant at Ubuhle boMzinyathi Secondary School, said the claim process on her phone was quick. “I am truly grateful and I hope the UIF maintains the good service to other clients,” she said.

Yenziwe Simelane, another former Educator Assistant, spoke outside the Amajuba Education Centre, and said: “The UIF officials were friendly and helpful and the entire process was quick. The best part is that I received my payment.”

The UIF in KwaZulu-Natal will be rolling out the project to other parts of the province and will announce dates and details in due course.

Source: Government of South Africa