BL Premium reports that business and labour have accused the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) of backtracking in talks over extending Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (Ters) wage protection to cover the current lockdown.  

This has come a little more than a week after discussions, initially described as positive, to restart the scheme to assist workers affected by the extended level 3 lockdown restrictions.  The return to level 3 at the end of December has left the hospitality and alcohol sectors reeling and the restrictions threaten to wipe out many small businesses, while big retailers are bracing to lose billions of rand.  There has nevertheless been no announcement of relief for businesses or workers hit by the regulations.  The government and its social partners have been meeting regularly at Nedlac and have discussed extending Ters, which was introduced in 2020 when the country went into a hard lockdown and is paid for by the UIF.  Two weeks ago the partners were still optimistic about the negotiations and a decision was expected to be reached soon. However, things appear to have changed, with the UIF now adamant it cannot afford to extend the benefit.  However, business and labour believe immediate relief must be provided and that there are sufficient funds in the UIF to pay Ters, which would cost R2bn-R3bn a month.  The UIF denies that it has backtracked.  "The negotiations are still ongoing and parties are looking at proposals on the table," a spokesperson said.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Genevieve Quintal at BusinessLive (paywall access only)

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