Cape Town 1 June 2004

Compensation Fund Overview Achievements Challenges Key Priorities 2004/5 Statistics Budget

Mandate Legislation: Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (Act 130) of 1993, amended by Act 61 of 1997 Objective: provide compensation to employees for diseases contracted and injuries sustained as a result of and in the course of employment or, in fatal cases, to their dependants, and for matters connected therewith

Structure According to COIDA, DG is the accounting officer. Compensation Commissioner administers COIDA on behalf of the DG using delegated powers The chief financial officer of the Compensation Fund administers PFMA on behalf of the DG, using powers delegated according to PFMA and Treasury Instructions.

Main tasks Registration of employers and allocate them to industry classes based on the nature of their business Obtain employers’ returns of earnings annually Registration, processing and payment of claims for injured employers Assessing and collecting the assessments from employers Paying the cost of medical treatment provided to injured employees Administration of the pension account and payment of monthly pensions separately Investing all excess funds until they are needed

Policies Noise induced hearing loss (171) Addressed underreporting Post traumatic stress disorders (172) – too many claims, saved from paying salaries and / or consultation fees, in addition to pensions Mesothelioma (173) – alignment with ODMWA Occupational asthma (176) Irritant induced asthma(177)

Policies TB in health workers (178) Repetitive strain injuries (180) Work related upper limb disorders – clarify information required and clarify claiming procedures Schedule 3 of COIDA Alignment with ILO Recommendation 194

Role of Compensation Board Tripartite consultation Brought in technical assistance from experts in occupational diseases Advise Minister on: Policy matters Annual benefit increases Appointment of assessors (for legal process) Amendment of Act

Provincial medical advisory panels General policy on occupational diseases Assist with diagnosis of occupational diseases Established pilot in Cape Town Chaired by Prof Neil White

Improvement in benefits Strive to provide inflationary increases annually Distribution of surplus accumulated in pension account – to COIDA pensioners Include salaries up to the maximum Consider the minimum earnings in calculating COIDA benefits Maximum burial benefits revised annually

Challenges Maintain solvency of the Fund Dealing with existing backlogs and preventing them building up in the future Rising cost of medical treatment Claims for post traumatic stress disorders

Key priorities Monitor the impact of the policies through the processed claims for occupational diseases Develop a protocol for compiling statistics on occupational diseases Improve revenue collection Eliminate backlogs on claims Roll out the provincial medical advisory panels Appointment of assessors for the legal process

Financial management Revenue generation from employers R2,5 billion Benefits to employees – R467 million Benefits to dependants and for permanent disability – R296 million Cost of medical treatment R1,32 billion

Statistics for April – May 2004 Assessments raised – New registrations – Revenue collected R332 million Compensation benefits paid – R94 million Medical payments – R163 million Pensions R (22 000) Claims for occupational diseases finalised