The Star reports that the return of the R350 grant for the unemployed has left the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) with a bitter taste in the mouth, with the organisation calling the grant an “insult to the poor”.
This after President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday announced several measures to boost the economy, which has taken a blow due to a number of lockdown restrictions related to a surge in Covid-19 cases. The R350 grant, titled the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) Grant and administered by the SA Social Security Agency, will be reinstated until March next year and will also be extended to unemployed caregivers who received child support grants. Saftu spokesperson Trevor Shaku said the trade union federation proposed a R1,200 grant for the unemployed. “We are saying R350 is too little. It’s not even near the poverty line. We want the social relief to be lifted. That (R350) means people would live on R11 per day. No one can live on that,” Shaku said. He added: “The question of unemployment is a problem. If people could have enough money to eat, they would not go and loot malls. If they give people that money, there will be a greater demand for household goods and consumables, and this will increase the production of goods and labour, so this will solve the question of job creation.” Cosatu welcomed the return of the R350 grant for the unemployed, but expressed its concerns about the impact of the lockdown restrictions on the economy and business. Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu said the current R350 relief grant was setting the tone for the debate over the basic income grant that was being discussed by the government and her department.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Rapula Moatshe at Pretoria News
- Read too, Covid grant should be R585, so everyone can afford to eat, says Black Sash, at GroundUp
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