Thohoyandou - The Department of Labour in Limpopo has urged taxi owners to register their employees with the Unemployment Insurance Fund.
Speaking during a road show at Thohoyandou's Mvusuludzo Taxi Rank, Assistant Fund Manager Mashudu Nyase said the number of taxi drivers registered for UIF was low.
"Taxi drivers should also be recognised as workers in the country. Like all workers they are protected and have rights as enshrined in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. Their bosses should register them so that they can claim from the fund if they lose their jobs," said Nyase.
Officials from the fund also visited taxi ranks in Polokwane, Louis Trichardt, Giyani and Tzaneen last week to educate taxi owners and employees about the requirements needed to register for UIF and the benefits of doing so.
Nyase said all employees who worked for more than 24 hours a month were required by law to register with the fund.
"The fund acts as a safety net when workers lose their jobs, as was the case during the global economic crisis. Workers who lost their jobs but were registered with the fund were protected from abject poverty because the fund paid unemployment benefits to them," she added.
Nyase explained that apart from unemployment benefits, the fund also paid maternity, illness, adoption and death benefits. "The fund therefore offers financial protection for workers in times of need. We have to understand that taxi drivers must also enjoy all benefits that accrue to every South African worker," she said.
A taxi driver who is based at the Mvusuludzo rank, 25-year-old Lufuno Munyai, said he would definitely register now that he knew about and understood how UIF worked.
"I can be booted at any time from my work as taxi driver and an accident can occur any time. I now know that my family would benefit if I die because I'm the breadwinner," said Munyai, who drives his taxi between Thohoyandou and Ha-Tshisele village each day.
