Capture Date: Tue, 13/04/2010 - 17:05
CHANNELS:
Pretoria - The number of people lining up for the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) has almost doubled in the past year as the economic crises forced thousands of people out of jobs.
This is despite an increase of 158 000 more contributors on the UIF database as compared to the end of March 2009 amounting to 7.7 million workers. Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana said on Tuesday the UIF paid benefits to 746 352 beneficiaries amounting to R5.3 billion - which is a 71 percent increase in unemployment benefit payments compared to the previous year.
"This is a clear indication of the impact of the current economic crisis and the job losses of the past year as indicated earlier," he said during his Budget Vote in Parliament. He said his department intends to improve benefits from eight to 12 months and look at the inclusion of civil servants for UIF.
"We have also committed to saving jobs and finding alternative employment pathways for those workers unfortunate enough to be retrenched. Working together with our social partners through NEDLAC, we have put in place a training layoff scheme".
The training layoff was launched last September jointly with the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration. The UIF and the National Skills Fund about R2,4 billion in funding for the scheme.
The UIF alone contributed more than R670 million for the training of the unemployed, R40 million of which has been allocated for the 2009/10 financial year. The UIF has also allocated a sum of R2 billion to the Independent Development Corporation to enable it to help companies in distress.
Mdladlana said as of March this year the department had concluded four training layoff agreements covering 2100 workers in the engineering, auto and mining sectors.
"We will need to do more if we are to cover the 870 000 workers who lost their jobs in the past year, and we need both business and labour in this regard," he said - BuaNews