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BusinessLive reports that Cosatu has called on the government to ease Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, saying the state cannot run the embattled economy on food parcels and relief benefits.
The trade union federation’s spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said on Monday that SA needed to move to level 3 “as soon as it is safe to do so” and the move must be guided by the need to save lives and minimise infections. “There is a risk that infections will increase, and the necessary health and safety measures must be put in place to reduce this risk,” he warned. Pamla stressed that the state could not afford to run the struggling economy on benefits issued by the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), which has disbursed almost R11bn in coronavirus relief benefits to date. According to projections by the National Treasury, SA could lose up to 7-million jobs and see unemployment shooting up from 29.1% to 50%. “Level 3 will allow most workers to resume work. This is critical to ensuring that their jobs can be saved and that they can provide food for their families. But it must be done in a manner which protects their lives,” said Pamla. On 1 May, the country downgraded from level 5 to level 4 lockdown to allow for key sectors of the economy including mining, manufacturing and agriculture to resume operations.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive
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