The Compensation Fund has made an impassioned plea to employers to play their part in facilitating the return of injured workers to employment.
The plea was made at the start of the Second Employment Working Group (EWG) Meeting of BRICS member-states in Port Alfred, Eastern Cape today. The countries are: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Ms Nthabiseng Magonono, Director responsible for Vocational Rehabilitation Programme at Compensation Fund was speaking on the topic: Employee Rehabilitation from the Department of Employment and Labour perspective.
“The employers must ensure that they exploit all alternatives so that injured workers with disablement are reintegrated post their injuries. These include placement opportunities and options for income-generation initiatives,” she said.
Ms Magonono said the initiatives could also include resolving and upskilling as well as business development support. She said employers are expected to implement the Return-to-Work policy mindful to the need to review their employee wellness policies as well as the human resound approach.
She said the Return-to-Work programmes was introduced in 2018 to support injured workers to facilitate their return to the workplace.
She said their loss of income impacted negatively their families.
“For instance, kids suffer in that with loss of earning, they struggle to go to school – hence the concept of the missing middle.”
Ms Magonono said injured workers faced huge challenges that impact on their functioning. This results also in a perpetual cycle of poverty,” she said.
“We also know that they experience a reduced form of self-control and efficacy. Psycho-social issues like anger outbursts become apparent,” she said.
What compounds the plight of injured workers was reduced income often worsened by inflation.
The solution, according to Ms Magonono, lies in a holistic Return-to-Work programme that includes clinical, vocational and psycho-social care.
These must be done in conjunction with involving families in the programme, she said.
She said the call to employers has been emboldened by the recently amended COID Act.
Source: Government of South Africa