The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) says that the country’s R350 Covid-19 unemployment grant needs to be continued until the end of 2021, and promises of a permanent basic income grant need to be implemented soon.<\/p>\n
Cosatu is the largest trade federation in the country with an estimated membership of 1.8 million workers.<\/p>\n
Presenting its post-budget proposals to parliament on Wednesday (3 March) said that the extended Covid grant was needed as ‘workers will not miraculously find jobs overnight’.<\/p>\n
“The ANC and government have repeatedly called for a basic income grant (BIG). The R350 Covid-19 grant is a BIG in essence with all its challenges,” the trade federation said.<\/p>\n
“The time to have a BIG is when the economy is facing its worse crisis in a century, not in some indeterminate time when things are better.”<\/p>\n
Cosatu added that the\u00a0UIF\u2019s Covid-19 TERS needs to continue for those workers who remain under restrictions.<\/p>\n
“It is immoral to ban workers over the age of 60 years or with co-morbidities who cannot be given alternate work or work from home from working yet provide them with no UIF relief.<\/p>\n
“The UIF has sufficient funds available to continue to help this limited sector of the workforce.”<\/p>\n
It added that the lower than inflation increases to social grants will be distressing for these destitute recipients.<\/p>\n
“It is galling that National Treasury and the banks have still not proposed any measures to revamp the Loan Guarantee Scheme, despite the SONA\u2019s commitment to precisely do that.<\/p>\n
“The failure to ensure that the monetary policy gives some additional support to the economy in the absence of a fiscal stimulus is reckless mismanagement of the economy.”<\/p>\n
In his state of the nation address on 11 February, president Cyril Ramaphosa said that the period for the Special Covid-19 Grant of R350 will be extended by a further three months.<\/p>\n
Ramaphosa said that this grant has proven to be an effective and efficient short-term measure to reduce the immediate impact on the livelihoods of poor South Africans.<\/p>\n