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The Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant has increased the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) benefit payments for top salary earners whilst ignoring the pleas of the most vulnerable workers.

Last week, the Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant announced that the UIF benefit payments for people earning R178 464 or more annually or a maximum salary of R14 872 per month will be increased.

Whilst the DA welcomes the announcement by the Minister, we regret however, that the benefits for those earning less than R178 464 per annum were not increased.

The Minister’s announcement attempts to paint a rosy picture of a poorly managed insurance instrument. The truth is that this move will only bring minor respite to a small percentage of privileged South Africans who are already earning good salaries prior to losing their jobs. Once again, government has ignored the pleas of the most vulnerable workers.  
  
The DA believes that the UIF is receiving unnecessarily excessive levies whilst paying out far too little in benefits.

This has resulted in the funds reserves increasing by 24% to more than R 60 billion in the last year despite the trying contemporary economic climate and mass worker lay-offs.

Even with a broad unemployment rate approaching 34%, the benefits paid during the 2011/2012 financial year increased by a miserly R5.6 billion or 4.27%.  

I will therefore be requesting a meeting with Minster Oliphant to request that the benefit payments for the most vulnerable workers be increased. I will also discuss the DA’s proposal to halve UIF contributions by both employer and employees to 0.5% each of total income.

Our proposals would put more money in the pockets of vulnerable workers as well as businesses. This much needed relief would come at a time when rising input costs and stagnant economic growth have placed enormous pressure on households.

The government needs to move beyond mere rhetoric about the unemployment crisis in this country. The funds are there. What is needed is the political will.

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