Unions and businesses expressed shock at learning that the NCCC had moved to cancel the Ters benefit on Thursday without consulting social partners despite assurances from Ramaphosa last month that it would be continued along with the extension of the State of Disaster.

The country’s biggest trade union federation Cosatu said this raised questions about whether Ramaphosa was in charge of his administration or not.

Cosatu national spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said anything that came from Ramaphosa would be questioned in future if the decision was not reversed.

“We cannot afford to have a system where a public commitment by the president can be ignored or rejected by some unelected and unaccountable group of bureaucrats. This is a slippery slope, and it will soon raise the question of who is in charge and whether the centre is really holding.”

Pamla added unions were planning to request that Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi come and explain the UIF delivery failures to workers, which he said fuelled the mistrust they had in Ramaphosa’s administration.

“This administration is becoming more unreliable and untrustworthy by the day and this trust deficit is a big problem for social partners who work and engage with it daily,” he said.

Nxesi’s spokesperson Sabelo Mali said the ministry was still expecting guidance from the NCCC on the reasoning behind the cancellation of the Ters benefit, adding that Nxesi was not to blame for it.

“We are still going to get clarity on this. The decision to cancel the fund has been the decision of the NCCC,” Mali said.

Pamla said that the Ters benefit had already saved many workers from being retrenched, adding that its discontinuation would result in massive retrenchments.

“… this does not help the UIF because these retrenched employees will now claim from the UIF to be paid the full retrenchment for the next 12 months, which costs more,” Pamla added.

Business for SA also reiterated the warning that there would be serious ramifications if Ramaphosa did not reverse the decision, which it described as “ill-advised and irrational”. “If the government believes the remaining level 1 restrictions are necessary, Ters must be retained,” it said.

Saftur general-secretary Zwelinzima Vavi appeared to be in the dark about the controversial decision insisting that it had not been made by the government.

Fedusa general secretary Riefdah Ajam described the decision as an insult to workers and accused government of undermining efforts agreed by social partners to avoid job cuts.

IOL