Durban - UIF clients across the country will now be able to access UIF services at any time, from anywhere at no cost.
Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) Commissioner Teboho Maruping launched a zero-rated mobile APP as well as a free USSD (unstructured supplementary service data) platform on Monday.
USSD technology lets businesses and customers converse in real-time.
According to the UIF, the aim of the app is to address long queues at labour centres around the country.
During the launch of the platforms, the commissioner appealed to UIF clients to begin the shift from the traditional way of transacting with the UIF.
Maruping said the launch of the USSD and mobile app will promote greater self-service for clients, reduce long queues in the labour centres and alleviate pressure on officials.
He believes the platforms would put more money in the pockets of clients because they would save on transport costs currently being used to visit labour centres.
“There is really no better time than now to do this to ensure that workers begin to access services at their fingertips. We are moving with the times to create a better, more capable UIF that leverages technology to respond to challenges on the ground and changes in the external environment,” said Maruping.
The commissioner said the UIF recognises that most of their clients may not be in the best financial position at the time when they need to access these services.
“For this reason, we have introduced additional service platforms that will cost them no money to access services,” he said.
He said the two platforms also enable clients to check their UIF registration status, which would improve non-compliance with the Unemployment Insurance Act by employers who fail to register, declare and pay contributions for their workers.
“By simply dialling *134*843# on any cellphone for free, clients can, among other things, submit a continuation of payment or check their claim and payment status, instead of visiting a labour centre.
“The same services can also be accessed on our mobile app, which can be downloaded from either Google Play Store, App Store for IOS phones or Huawei App Store,” said Maruping.
He called on all UIF contributing workers to use these platforms to check their registration status while in employment.
“Do not wait until you are no longer working to do this because it will help you when you need to claim from us. If you find that your employer has not registered you, but is deducting UIF, then immediately report this to a labour inspector so it can be corrected,” said Maruping.