Michael Cardo

Dear MyPE The Democratic Alliance (DA) is calling upon the government to extend the Unemployment Insurance Fund’s (UIF) Covid-19 Temporary Employer-Employee Relief (Ters) scheme, in light of the extension of the adjusted level 3 lockdown announced last night. The prolonged lockdown is devastating hundreds of businesses, many of them in the tourism, hospitality and liquor industries, which are either unable to operate or are only able to operate partially under increased … [Read more...] about Calls for extension of UIF Ters scheme

Dear MyPE The DA notes with despair the announcement today by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) that 2.2 million people lost their jobs in the 2nd quarter and that the expanded unemployment rate increased by 2.3% to an unprecedented 42% in the same quarter. By its own admission, StatsSA points out that the decline in the official unemployment rate from 30.1% to 23.3% in the 2nd quarter is not a reflection of an improvement in the labour market but rather an effect of the lockdown, since … [Read more...] about Record unemployment rate: South Africans pay a high price for ANC’s bad choices

Dear MyPE The Minister of Employment and Labour, Thulas Nxesi, must come clean on the reasons why the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) has still not opened June applications for the Covid-19 Ters benefit. There is clearly something desperately wrong at the UIF that goes beyond mere “systems glitches”. The Fund’s tardiness in disbursing benefits, which is having a devastating impact on the livelihoods of millions of workers and their families, raises a critical question: Is the UIF … [Read more...] about Nxesi must come clean on UIF imbroglio

Dear MyPE The Democratic Alliance (DA) implores the Minister of Employment and Labour, Thulas Nxesi, and the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) to intervene urgently in the burgeoning humanitarian crisis confronting foreign nationals in South Africa. While the DA welcomes the announcement by UIF Commissioner, Teboho Maruping, that UIF payments to foreign nationals would be made more speedily, we are still inundated with emails from desperate foreign nationals who have been diligently paying … [Read more...] about Where are UIF Ters payments for foreigners who’ve contributed for years?

Employment equity amendments a recipe for economic disaster Dear MyPE The Employment Equity (EE) Amendment Bill, which Cabinet has now sent to Parliament for processing, is another attempt by the ANC to strangle the life out of South Africa’s barely breathing economy in the name of “demographic representivity”. The Democratic Alliance (DA) will oppose it tooth and nail. The draft bill serves to codify racial bean-counting. If enacted, the amendments will hamper economic growth and destroy … [Read more...] about EEA Disaster

Dera MyPE The results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the 4th quarter of 2019, released today, show that South Africa remains knee-deep in a jobs bloodbath, with an official unemployment rate of 29.1%. The QLFS revealed that between Quarter 3 and Quarter 4 of 2019, the number of discouraged work-seekers increased by 62 000 and those who were not active in the labour market for other reasons other than discouragement increased by 45 000 resulting in a net increase of 107 000 … [Read more...] about Jobs bloodbath: President needs to announce action plan in SONA