Insurance regulator makes case for factory fire victims

Kampala. The Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) has asked relatives of the six people who died in a fire that gutted Crest Foam mattress factory to pursue compensation.
The five victims were yesterday laid to rest in Tororo and Kayunga districts.
Ms Mariam Nalunkuuma, the IRA spokesperson, told journalists yesterday that the factory and its employees were insured and deceased staff are entitled to compensation of up to 60 months’ pay.
“They were insured and under the Workman’s Compensation Act, they are entitled to 60 months of their earnings,” she said, adding that even casual workers have a percentage they are supposed to be paid.
“The relatives have to be provided with information from the factory’s human resource department so that the insurance firm pays them,” she said.
Ms Nalunkuuma advised relatives of the deceased to liaise with the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development to follow up on their compensation.
The development could be a sigh of relief to the deceased’s relatives. While presiding over their requiem mass on Monday, Mr Jacob Oboth Oboth, the South Budama West Member of Parliament, asked the factory management to make a commitment towards maintaining the dependants of the deceased employees.
In an interview last week, Mr Paul Bainomugisha, the company human resource manager, said the deceased staff had been insured and they would sit down with the relatives after their burial to discuss the compensation.
When contacted yesterday, Mr Wilson Owere, the chairman National Organisation of Trade Unions, confirmed that the law mandates the employer to pay the workers.
“This is what we have been advocating for. Government should also take responsibility because it is the custodian of the law. All work places should be inspected and ensure that they are compliant,” he said.
Established under Section 14 of the Insurance Statute 1996, IRA’s objective is to ensure effective administration, supervision, regulation and control of insurance business in Uganda.

The law
Section Four of the Workman’s Compensation Act states that where the deceased worker leaves any family members who are dependent on his or her earnings, the amount of compensation shall be a sum equal to sixty times his or her monthly earnings.