Cape Town - Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi says the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) is in discussions with actuaries to find surplus money for income support, to business and employees affected by Covid-19 third wave.
Speaking at a media briefing with other ministers, on measures to ensure compliance during lockdown level 4, Nxesi on Tuesday said their safety directions included income support and the roll-out of vaccines.
“In response to level 4, the UIF management has been locked in discussions with actuaries to find surplus money to address the new conditions.
“The UIF has a duty to safeguard the funds of its contributing members from the day when they draw down on funds for ordinary UIF benefits, in cases of retrenchment and unemployment,” he said.
Nxesi also said the payment of Temporary Employer-Employee Relief (TERS) was a balancing act, looking at the affordability versus the need.
“Social partners will be engaging at Nedlac this week to thrash out a plan for income support. From the side of UIF, we believe we will be able to afford to support workers in sectors which have been closed by the government, in particular, the alcohol industry over the 14-day lockdown,” he said.
Nxesi, however, said the whole alcohol value-chain, in its entirety, would not all benefit from TERS under level 4 of the lockdown.
“We believe the production is still continuing,” he added.
There are two TERS schemes, with one for companies that temporarily closed and another for those that permanently collapsed.
“If a company collapses because it could not be sustainable, permanent TERS must kick in – led by the CCMA,” Nxesi said, adding that temporary closure would be assisted with temporary TERS.
The minister also said President Cyril Ramaphosa argues for dialogue and solidarity between social partners when the country faces challenges.
“We cannot overemphasise the importance of the work of Nedlac in facilitating engagements among social partners and a united response to the pandemic and lockdown. This is more urgent in the wake of the third wave,” said Nxesi.
The minister said it was now the time for engaging one another and finding solutions.
He said the social partners would engage at Nedlac to thrash out a plan for the income support.
“I don’t want to pre-empt discussions of Nedlac on this matter, as it is a discussion to be discussed on Thursday. We will see what comes out of that,” Nxesi said.
The UIF has paid R60 billion in TERS, to 500 million workers, during the pandemic.
Asked about progress made in dealing with employers who used “ghost” workers to claim payment from the TERS scheme, Nxesi said a lot of progress has been made.
“We interacted with the Department of Home Affairs and the South African Revenue Service (Sars) to deal with those who were picked up, as per the auditor-general’s recommendations.
“We also continue to use audit firms, about seven of them, following up the money,” said Nxesi.
He also said they were bringing to book the employers who claimed TERS payments and never passed the funds to legitimate employees.
Meanwhile, Nxesi said the department has a regulatory regime and capacity to inspect sectors, and was adamant it would cope with new challenges in making workplaces Covid-19 compliant and safe.
“This week, my department will finalise a rapid response plan to inspect workplaces across provinces, for compliance with health and safety regulations
“We are to mobilise other departments to work with us on this,” he said.
mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za
Political Bureau