THE commissioner of the cash-flush Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) believes it has the means to expand its net of beneficiaries to include seasonal, informal and temporary workers, as suggested on Wednesday by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu).The first step in this process has been taken with the tabling of the Unemployment Insurance Amendment Bill in Parliament, which proposes to extend unemployment benefits from eight months to 12 months, as well as other more generous measures.UIF commissioner Boas Seruwe said on Wednesday the inclusion of the self-employed would be considered next, followed by other categories of workers.Mr Seruwe said expanding the net of beneficiaries had been discussed during National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) deliberations on the bill.Mr Seruwe noted that, with R120bn in accumulated reserves, the fund had ample resources to extend benefits.Its actuaries had estimated that the cost of lengthening the benefit period ...
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