ESRIC RAISES CONCERNS ON WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION BILL

PIGG’S PEAK – The Workmen’s Compensation (Amendment) Bill No. 22 of 2022 report may have been adopted in Parliament but ESRIC has made some recommendations.

This comes before its monopoly as the sole government approved insurer is brought to an end. According to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security Portfolio Committee report, during its submissions, the Eswatini Royal Insurance Corporation (ESRIC) was quick to indicate that it was not opposed to the Bill but the concern was only on the transition to the proposed structure. The insurance company brought it to attention of Parliament that they were not previously warned about the impending legislative changes.

ESRIC demanded that a risk assessment of the current registered insurance companies would need to be done by the financial regulator (FSRA), that is, capability to handle and honour the workmen’s compensation compliance requirements, such as fitness for compensation purposes in addition to simply being registered. FSRA is the Financial Services Regulatory Authority, which regulates companies that offer financial services in the country. ESRIC argued that a new insurer would need to prepare itself to handle this class of business and the ministry would have to satisfy itself that the insurer(s) had a firm understanding of its responsibility in terms of the Act. On another note, on April 16 to 18, 2023, the committee convened at the Happy Valley Hotel to consider the Bill, clause-by-clause. Before the committee dealt with the amendments to the Bill, they reflected on some of the issues that had come to the fore in previous meetings.

Request

The committee voiced their misgivings about the submissions made by the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF), regarding their request for retrospective compensation for UEDF members previously injured or deceased in the line of duty. It was noted that the law did not have a retrospective effect and, therefore, only new matters would be addressed by this Act once it came into effect. The proposal was that, UEDF should collate the number of claimants among their ranks and request government to settle these claims. A further suggestion was that a board could be put in place to evaluate these claims and ensure that the compensation was paid to the rightful people. Another submission that piqued the committee’s interest was that of the UEDF having a separate Medical Board that would evaluate claims, because of the unique nature of their occupation and any resultant injuries, and that this could be provided for in the regulations.

Members of the portfolio committee recommended that injury while on duty should have a definition or interpretation in the Act, so as to avoid any ambiguity or uncertainty. There was also a general consensus that since the country had several security forces, they might believe that they should also benefit with the same treatment that UEDF will get from the provisions of this Bill and that this may cause challenges in the future. The amendment regarding the establishment of the office of the Commissioner of Compensation caused some confusion, as some members of the portfolio committee believed this might be replacing the commissioner of Labour. However, it transpired that this was not the case, as the role of commissioner of compensation was just one of the many functions being performed by the commissioner of labour as opposed to it being the only role, therefore, any concerns were allayed.

The committee raised concerns about how the current insurer (ESRIC) had held the monopoly for such a long time and wondered how the transitioning of de-monopolising the insurer would affect the operations of the Workmen’s Compensation. Members suggested that a transitional provision could be included in the amendments, to allow for any loose ends and hand-over processes that may become necessary.

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