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"Employers are and must remain responsible for the provision of entitlements to their employees, especially to the extent that any assets are still available," he said.
KordaMentha has so far retrenched 350 staff, with another 150 jobs in the balance, following the February 2005 implosion of the German-owned company, which has confirmed debts of about $90 million. WCG had realisable assets of $17-26 million, and contingent liabilities of $61 million.
Andrews said the government was monitoring KordaMentha's progress, and had already received more than 200 claims from former employers seeking compensation under the General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS).
"While my staff in the department have been processing these, they are unable to make payments without additional information from the administrators and while the company remains in administration," he said.
GEERS was enacted in September 2001 to protect the former workers of insolvent companies recover monies owing to them
The scheme covers all unpaid wages, accrued annual leave, long service leave, time in lieu, and up to eight weeks of redundancy pay, per community standards.
Payments under GEERS are capped at $90,400 for employees affected in the 2004-05 financial year.
Last month, Sydney Water said it was seeking payments from KordaMentha for subcontractors who worked for the failed contractor on two of its projects.
Sydney Water said it was seeking a release of funds from administrator KordaMentha for work completed by contractors since January 1 2005 on the Illawarra Wastewater Strategy and the Georges River stage one.
