Independent News reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa is set face the wrath of organised labour following the abrupt cancellation of the UIF’s Covid-19 Temporary Employer/ Employee Relief Scheme (Ters) by his National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC).  

Unions and businesses expressed shock at learning that the NCCC had moved to cancel the Ters benefit on Thursday without consulting social partners despite assurances from Ramaphosa last month that it would be continued along with the extension of the state of disaster.  Union federation Cosatu said this raised questions about whether Ramaphosa was in charge of his administration or not.  Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla commented:  “We cannot afford to have a system where a public commitment by the president can be ignored or rejected by some unelected and unaccountable group of bureaucrats.”  He added that unions were planning to request that Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi should come and explain the UIF delivery failures to workers.  Nxesi’s spokesperson Sabelo Mali said the ministry was still expecting guidance from the NCCC on the reasoning behind the cancellation of the Ters benefit, adding that Nxesi was not to blame for it.  Business for SA (B4SA) also reiterated its warning that there would be serious ramifications if Ramaphosa did not reverse the decision, which it described as “ill-advised and irrational”.  Labour federation Fedusa described the decision as an insult to workers and accused government of undermining efforts agreed by social partners to avoid job cuts.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Siviwe Feketha at Independent News

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