$13.2m Plus Pay Out

The Employment Ministry has paid out a total compensation of $13,296,413.76 for 563 deaths reported to them within a period of 10 years.

Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations Parveen Bala said in Parliament yesterday that his ministry had investigated 11,558 cases comprising 86 per cent injury cases and 14 per cent death cases.

A total of 4007 injury cases were paid out amounting to $15,460,996.02, which included 2941 private sector injury cases totalling $8,576,548.15 and 1066 injury cases for Government with a compensation payment of $6,884,447.87.

Of the 563 death cases compensated, 65 were from the private sector with compensation of $1,510,185.44 and 498 deaths were recorded for the public sector with total compensation of $11,786,228.32.

Mr Bala reported that over the 10-year period, his ministry managed to settle and close 10,768 cases.

In total as of March 12, this year, the total compensation payment of $28,757,409.78 has been made to injured workers and dependents of deceased workers.

“The reported compensation cases over the last five years revealed that the top four high risk industries where majority of the reported workplace accidents occurred were the construction industry, wholesale and retail trade, restaurant and hotels, manufacturing and among statutory authorities,” Mr Bala said.

The remaining 395 pending cases are currently under investigation by the ministry.

Opposition MP Mikaele Leawere expressed his concern that the ministry had not tabled its annual reports for the past five years to Parliament, adding that the last report was tabled in 2016.

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