Man threatens to take legal action against department

HAZYVIEW- Mdluli said he has been pleading with the department to compensate him since 2019, but all in vain.

“I was hired as a casual driver at Lowveld Door Solutions in Hazyview, delivering door frames.

“On November 26, 2019, I was involved in a car accident on my way back to work after I had delivered door frames in Badplaas. After the accident, the doctors told me that I would not be able to work anymore since my spinal cord was badly injured and left me paralysed.

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“My former employers did their part and paid me my salary for three months. After the three-month period, the Department of Labour’s compensation fund was supposed to have taken over in making sure that I get the funds and that I am able to maintain a living,” said Mdluli. “In 2020, I registered and applied for my compensation fund, but to date I have not received any payments. They keep on saying they will pay me, but nothing really ever happens. Life has been very hard for me ever since the accident. No one is working at home, and I’m sitting in this wheelchair, still busy nursing the wounds I sustained during the accident.”

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Asked for comment, the Department of Labour’s pension administrator in Mbombela, Aaron Magagula, said, “Mdluli and his employer delayed reporting the case to us. The case was only reported in 2021 and Mdluli didn’t have all the proper documents in order for us to process everything fast. “The delay of both the employer and Mdluli is the reason why the payment got delayed as well. Now that everything is sorted out, we prepare and process all the documents and Mdluli will be paid accordingly as he qualifies for the compensation fund.” Magagula committed that Mdluli will be paid by the end of February