Durban – The Unemployment Insurance Fund said on Friday it will stand behind their commitment to pay the Covid-19 relief benefit (Covid-19 TERS) until the end of June 2020.
Minister of Employment and Labour Thulas Nxesi said in a statement: "We remain committed to pay the TERS benefit until June as per the initial directive of 26 March.
"The benefits will continue to be paid to eligible employees as set out in Covid-19 directives of April, May and June 2020, and will be paid according to the same benefits structure of the income replacement rate, varying between 38% and 60%."
The UIF has also said that applications which have been handed in late will still be processed, given that all the supporting documents are made available to them.
According to the UIF, the claims that have not been paid out was done so because of a lack of supporting documents provided in the application process.
The minister further explained the progress which the Fund has made thus far.
"As of 24 June, the Fund has paid R 8.4 billion (R8,401,750,767.94) to 149,120 employers who submitted applications on behalf of 2,037,458 employees. In total, UIF has disbursed close to R 28 billion (R 27,717,930,315.10) since 16 April," Nxesi said.
According to Nxesi, the relief fund has been of immense benefit to the people of South Africa.
"The payments by the UIF should be seen in the context of government-wide basket of services and interventions to ease the burden of the coronavirus," the minister said.
"In the process, and because this is unprecedented, a few mistakes occurred but detractors fail to see the magnitude of the work that has been done and the relief that it has brought to many people in our country.
"Using the measure that one beneficiary is responsible for eight others, the amount of money that has been distributed has covered at least 14 million people in this round of May payments alone. This is a real difference in the lives of workers and is evidence to government's commitment to make a real difference."
Furthermore, it was found that a total of R770 million had been paid directly into employees bank accounts, even though the application was filed by the employer on behalf of the employee.
Since April, a total of R135 million in relief funds had been paid out to domestic workers, while foreign nationals have received a total of R639 million.
The minister also said that the 965 751 employees who have not received their payment relief, was because of the outstanding information that their employer failed to provide.