Fin24 reports that Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) Minister Thulas Nxesi says his department will soon develop and issue a directive for the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) to assist employees who have lost their jobs due to the recent unrest that rocked SA.

Nxesi was briefing reporters on Wednesday following meetings held by the DEL with Nedlac. This came as the UIF reintroduced the Covid-19 Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (Ters) earlier this week. Nxesi said under level 4 of the national lockdown, the UIF Covid-19 Ters had been extended with a fund of R5.3 billion, and applications had opened on Monday. He advised that part of the available funds would now go towards assisting employees who lost their jobs due to the unrest. Nxesi also said the DEL would draft a directive to ensure that workers who did not qualify for UIF or Ters could access benefits, and this could occur as soon as this week. "The department is committed to assisting workers affected by events in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. According to our estimates, 75,000 employees have been affected by the destruction in the two provinces. This could lead to temporary layoffs or outright retrenchments," Nxesi said. However, he added, qualifying criteria would be strict and it would not be “a free-for-all”. Data was being compiled on businesses affected by unrest and the DEL would be able to reveal a benefit calculation in the directive.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khulekani Magubane at Fin24
• Read too, UIF sets aside R5.3bn to assist workers and firms hit by unrest, at BusinessLive (paywall access only)

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