Durban - Durban Public Order police were called out on Monday after hundreds of people blockaded Kings Road in Pinetown.
The angry mob were believed to be Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) beneficiaries frustrated because they had apparently not received their payments and the office was closed.
Police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said that yesterday morning about 400 people barricaded Kings Road in Pinetown with stones and debris.
“The road was cleared and no serious incidents were reported. Public Order Police as well as local police were at the scene to monitor and stabilise the situation. No case has been opened,” she said.
Hillcrest resident Dennis Richards said there were no police around when he and his mother arrived.
“While we were walking down the road to the building, we saw rocks being thrown. There was a massive queue and people were throwing rocks at cars turning on that road. They were throwing these at the building as well as people walking past,” he said.
Richards estimated half the people in the queue did not have masks on and were not practising physical distancing.
“There is a photo being circulated on Facebook of this surfer with the sea behind him and he is being arrested by four policemen and getting a R5 000 fine. And here you get a massive group of people standing one on top of the other and no police around,” he said.
Richards said his mom was an ordinary UIF beneficiary.
At the beginning of last month they were told they did not have to go to the office and sign to release funds; instead, a text message would be sent confirming this.
Richards said his mother went to the building to enquire when she didn’t receive this text.
“That was on March 20 and there she was given forms to fill in and sign. These were put into a box at the entrance. To this day she hasn’t received any word,” he said.
Asked why the UIF text message was not being sent, Labour Department spokesperson Nhlanhla Khumalo said the department had adhered to the level 5 lockdown regulations by putting in place online services to protect both employers and clients.
The system processes the next payments automatically for clients’ convenience and ensures they don’t have to sign and submit continuation forms.
“Before the lockdown the department had already placed drop-in boxes at the offices for clients. We have issued telephone numbers and email addresses through media and social media to assist clients with filling in of online applications and with any query or enquiry that might have to do with their benefits,” said Khumalo.
All enquiries were responded to and assistance provided and or referred to the relevant office.
Meanwhile, the National Employers’ Association of South Africa (NEASA) is yet to release the results of its survey into how many members had received the Covid-19 UIF Temporary Employer/Employees Relief Scheme (TERS) so far.
The survey was conducted yesterday. Results of the previous study released on Friday showed that 62% of employers still had not received their TERS.
NEASA said that at the end of last month the South African workforce consisted of over 10 million workers, of which more than 8 million are registered with the UIF.
“If 50% of them were affected by lockdown, and it has to be higher, it means that only 25% have benefited.