The Unemployment Insurance Fund has increased maternity benefits for low wage earners but now only pays out for 4 months not 6 months like before. And another improvement – now women workers that have just claimed maternity benefits, can also qualify for unemployment benefits if they are dismissed or retrenched in that same year. Some workers like Tanya Smith who works for Cape Town engineering company, Rhomberg Electronics are happy with the new improvements. She went on maternity leave at the end of September last year. She completed and handed her forms in at Department of Labour offices in Athlone. A month later she gave birth to a healthy boy; and sent his birth certificate to the Department of Labour.
In mid December, two and a half months later, she received her first payment from UIF. In January the Fund sent her another yellow form to complete and her next payment is due end of February. “I did not experience any problems with the Department of Labour,” says a happy Sims. “They deposited my money directly into my bank account and posted a slip before the time indicating when the money would be available.”
While on maternity leave, she also received her benefits from the Engineering Sick Pay Fund in November, December and in January this year. A not so happy Charmaine Leibrandt who works for Howard Center Motors as a cashier had a different experience. She went on maternity leave at the beginning of November last year.
“I applied to the Department of Labour in October,” says Leibrandt, “they told me that once the baby is born I must bring the birth certificate and from then on it would take two to three months.”
“My baby was born on December 6, I took the birth certificate to them a week later. I had to come back to work on January 31 as I did not receive any payment and my kids needed school things”. Despite trying UIF customer care service number on numerous occasions, she failed to get through.
“With my other pregnancies I was much better off. I received payment on time, the problem now is we are waiting to long. They did not even send me any correspondence to say how far the claim is!” says an irritated Leibrandt. When Numsa intervened, UIF informed her that her payment would be due in the middle of February, almost three and a half months after she went on maternity leave!
However, one good thing that came out of complaining to her local Numsa office – Numsa found out that she also belongs to the Motor Industry Sick, Accident and Maternity Fund. So she will also soon receive 30% of her weekly earnings from the fund for the period she was off work.
But workers complain of the reduction of UIF benefits to four months. “We don’t have a choice, we have to go back to work after four months,” says Rozina Jantjies, a shopsteward at Tedelex in Atlantis. And if they are members of the engineering or motor sick pay funds and they go back to work when UIF benefits run out after 4 months, it also means that they will forfeit the payment that they could have got for those last two months.
“Women workers cannot afford to stay at home,” says Jantjies. “Numsa must ensure that all its sectors have six-months paid maternity leave as a right. Employers or sick pay funds must pay the difference of what you get from UIF.”
Women also complain of the long wait for benefits – at least two and a half months for UIF benefits and a little bit less from sick pay funds. “The first payment should be before your child is born, that’s when you need the money,” says Jantjies.