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Labour minister worries about businesses post-COVID-19

“Our country and the world we live in will never be the same,” said President Cyril Ramaphosa in his speech to the nation on Tuesday.

It’s a phrase that has been battered around since the weight of the COVID-19 pandemic sank in around the world – things will never be the same.

For many, that phrase brings hope, but for many more, the uncertainty of the future is very unnerving.

One of those people is the minister of employment and labour, Thulas Nxesi.

During a joint meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour and the Select Committee on Trade and Industry, Economic Development, Small Business Development, Tourism, Employment and Labour, Nxesi voiced his concern about the number of businesses closing post-COVID-19.

During the meeting, the minister said that the Unemployment Insurance Fund had paid out more than 37 000 claims but it was currently challenged as there a spike in applications.

That spike shows no signs of letting up according to Nxesi.

“There are projections from a number of economists that we might add another million people to the unemployment numbers which we already have in the country. This is a very serious matter,” said the minister.

Nxesi is worried that with more employers applying for temporary relief schemes, the UIF will be put under even greater strain. In addition, some employers have already warned employees of planned retrenchments. This will, according to Nxesi, bring an increased number of cases before the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.

Of course, we now await word from Ramaphosa today regarding the possible easing of lockdown restrictions.

Whether these will see some small businesses able to continue operations in some limited capacity remains to be seen but given the fact that we’re not out of the woods yet with regards to the pandemic, we’re not entirely sure how the president and government at large will approach the situation.

Every election we hear that small businesses are the back bone of the economy. Right now, that back bone is breaking and much like Nxesi, we’re concerned.

[Source – Parliament][Image – CC 0 Pixabay]

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