No plan to help those left unemployed by lockdown after UIF TERS fund ends

Industries that are still closed during the lockdown are now on their own, as the department of labour seemingly has no further plans to aid those who continue to be left without income.

The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (Ters) closed for new applications on Tuesday, 30 June, after three months of providing relief to employers and employees affected by the lockdown.

Since Ters’ inception in April, about R26 billion had been paid out to approximately six million employees.

The government reopened a list of economic activities when the country moved to level 3 of the lockdown at the beginning of June. This included the reopening of sit-down restaurants, hair salons and travel accommodation.

But gyms, night clubs and flea markets remained closed.

Patience Sithole, a personal trainer at one of the country’s top gym companies, is R19 000 behind in rent and struggling to make ends meet during this continued phase of the lockdown.

Her attempts at online training have failed, as she couldn’t charge her clients, as virtual training was not part of their initial agreement.

“I was depressed, I was crying and not eating. It was bad. In the first month I had about five clients, who only paid me what they could. But now I luckily have one or two clients who paid me because they felt sorry for me since I have been with them for a long time,” Sithole said.

Beside the goodwill of these clients, Sithole has had to make do with very little, and has even had to resort to accepting gifts in order to get by.

Workers like Sithole and others in industries which are still not allowed to open their doors are now on their own as the department doesn’t have answers for what they must do to get by.

Asked how UIF or the labour department would aid those working in industries which remained closed, spokesperson Makhosonke Buthelezi had no good news.

“The directives stipulated the time period for the Covid-19 Ters benefit to last for three months. Therefore, there is no extension of the scheme for industries that remain closed.”

In response to whether there was any other way of seeking relief from the UIF, he said this could only be if the company was in distress.

“As indicated above, there is no extension of the scheme to the industries that remain closed. However, the normal TERS scheme is available for companies in distress where they apply via [the] CCMA if they are on the throes of retrenchment,” he told The Citizen.

Meanwhile, Sithole said she was not expecting many clients should she officially return to work as “people are afraid of the virus.”

“I am even thinking of going to open a credit card. That is my last option, which is something I didn’t even want,” she said.

• rorisangk@citizen.co.za

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