GroundUp reports that a Pretoria mother was taken to a health facility on Friday after collapsing while waiting for hours at the labour office in the city centre. The woman was waiting in line with her baby, apparently to apply for Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) benefits, when she suddenly fell ill. Her exact condition is not known, but she remained conscious and was taken to the nearest health facility by ambulance. GroundUp was at the office on Friday after readers complained of having to wait in long lines in Pretoria because the department’s office in Mamelodi has been closed since August last year due to “safety concerns”. At 10am the two queues outside the labour office were still very long, and the one for UIF stretched down Skinner Street. People in Mamelodi and neighbouring communities wanting to claim UIF benefits or to report work-related problems have had to travel to the already overburdened city centre labour office. Mamelodi residents in line at the labour office on Friday claimed that staff members at the Pretoria labour centre often turned them back to get additional documents when applying for UIF, which meant they have had to spend more money on travel. Joel Machabaphala from Mamelodi said he lost his job as a security guard last year and it costs him R110 for a round trip each time to the Pretoria labour office.
Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Warren Mabona at GroundUp