The Department of Employment and Labour has paid more than R1.2 million in benefits to former mineworkers and their dependants during a week-long outreach programme in Port St Johns, Eastern Cape.
Held under Project Thubalethu, the initiative helped 277 beneficiaries receive a total of R1,278,846.28 in unclaimed benefits through the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).
The department said the payments provide long-overdue financial relief, with dependants receiving benefits where former mineworkers had passed away.
Commissioner for Occupational Diseases Barry Kistnasamy said an estimated R18 million remains unclaimed in the Port St Johns area alone, while about R10 billion in benefits is still unclaimed nationwide.
The outreach also assisted 319 former mineworkers with work-related injury claims and registered more than 400 job seekers on the Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA) database.
No tags for this post.
