Fin24 reports that at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday a decision is expected on whether Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (Ters) payments will be made to workers who cannot earn an income during lockdown level 4.

Acting spokesperson for the Department of Employment and Labour, Musa Zondo, said: "We can't confirm anything until Cabinet concurs - which is where the process is." Zondo indicated that the sectors that might receive Ters also still needed to be confirmed, because Cabinet "may very well have a different view". Many businesses are currently closed, including cinemas, gyms, bars, casinos and restaurants. Meantime, labour federation Cosatu and the Restaurant Association of SA (RASA) confirmed that an agreement was reached at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) to reinstate Ters. Director of communication and marketing at the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), Makhosonke Buthelezi, said the list of worker categories eligible for Ters in the extension included the liquor industry and its value chain, gyms, events, conferencing, aviation, tourism and allied sectors and many more. Ters was introduced at the start of hard lockdown in 2020 and was suspended almost a year later in March 2021. While Ters was beset with administrative problems and fraudulent payments were made, it provided income support of R60 billion to over five million workers during a tough economic time.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khulekani Magubane at Fin24

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