PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE PRESENTATION COVERAGE OF PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOYEES 12TH November 2002

PURPOSE To investigate the extension of coverage to all Public Service Employees under the ambit of the new Unemployment Insurance Fund (Act. 63 of 2001)

Approach Structure of Public Service Benefits Possible options for Coverage Recommendations

Public Service vs. UIF Benefits Pension benefits Sick/illness benefits Leave for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Maternity benefits Adoption Benefits Severance Packages

Pension benefits Research conducted by the Treasury found that Pension benefits provided in the Public Service were more favorable than those provided for in the private sector.

Sick/illness benefits All state employees are entitled to illness leave of 36 working days with full pay over a three-year cycle. Additional benefit in the form of “temporary incapacity leave”

Leave for Occupational Injuries and diseases This leave is also available and is granted with full pay to all employees for the duration that they cannot work

Maternity benefits All state employees are entitled to four consecutive calender months’ maternity leave with full pay Employees, who during the trimester of their pregnancy experience miscarriage, stillbirth or termination of the pregnancy on medical grounds, eligible to six weeks maternity leave with full pay.

Adoption Benefits An Employee, who adopts a child that is younger than two years, shall qualify for adoption leave to a maximum of 45 working days with full pay.

Findings Benefits accruing to Public Service employees are more favorable than those currently provided under UIF Act 63 of 2001 However, these benefits do not accrue to session workers in the public service who are deemed to be casual workers.

Observations UIF Act 63 of 2001 also excludes casual workers employed by the state It was not the intention of the state to exclude these catogories of workers from the coverage of the Unemployment Insurance Fund Section 3(1)(c) explicitly excludes employers in the Provincial and National sphere of government and thus making it difficult to extend coverage to casual workers

Recommendations That, amendments be effected immediately to correct the unintended exclusion of casual workers brought about by Section 3(1)(c) That, in the interim the state should institute measures for redress That, in the case of permanent state employees, that the current status must remain and that the bargaining council mechanisms could be explored to deal with issue of inclusion or non-inclusion