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BL Premium reports that acting Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) commissioner Marsha Bronkhorst stressed in parliament on Friday that the fund would be able to afford the R15.8bn extra cost of extending the Covid-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (Ters) to mid-March, but not beyond that date.
Cosatu strongly believes the benefit should continue for as long as the national state of disaster and the restriction on business activities are in force. The labour federation, along with business, has fought hard in Nedlac for the two extensions of the benefit that have been granted. The UIF previously resisted an extension of the Ters on the grounds that this would undermine its future ability to pay statutory benefits for loss of work. Since 27 March 2020, Ters payments have cost the UIF R58.3bn with 13.7-million payments made to workers and 1.2-million employers having applied for the relief until its previous expiry date of 15 October 2020. Two new payment periods will be covered, the first from 16 October to 31 December 2020 and the second from 1 January to 15 March 2021, with applications for the first period having opened on 1 March. “At this stage the UIF has enough resources and enough assets to pay the projected increase of statutory or ordinary benefits as well as the extension of Ters up to March 15. But we should really note that we cannot continue extending Ters. The UIF’s pocket is the same as any individual’s or organisation’s – we can’t extend and pay more than we generate in terms of income,” Bronkhorst told MPs.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Linda Ensor at BusinessLive
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