Reacting to the news on July 5 that TERS had been extended to the restaurant industry and other industries affected by the lockdown, the Restaurant Association of SA (RASA) expressed its gratitude to Cosatu for its support in helping the industry to prise this UIF benefit out of the government.

But, like other players in these industries most affected by the lockdown, Wendy Alberts, RASA CEO, is disappointed in the government’s non-collaborative approach.

She told Tourism Update that it was disappointing that the industry had to go to the lengths it did in order to get the TERS from the UIF. She said the Minister of Labour, Thulas Nxesi, should have been ready to make the announcement as soon as the lockdown was announced. The government should have planned to have the funds ready and available to assist the industry, knowing this was coming, she said.

“The government neglects the Constitutional rights of individuals. It just closed the restaurant industry down instantly, overnight, without any consultation. The industry was struggling back from zero, on very low profitability before this lockdown, and is now back to no profitability. Now, the government needs to support us. We cannot pay the bills,” said Alberts.

She said the law was clear that an industry needed to be compensated when its workers’ ability to earn an income was impeded by the government’s lockdown restrictions being imposed and no other mechanisms were in place for assistance. “Where is the collaborative approach?”

The UIF’s Director of Communications, Makhosonke Buthelezi, was quoted in a report by News 24, saying the list of worker categories eligible for TERS in the latest extension included the liquor industry and its value chain, gyms, events, conferencing, aviation, tourism and allied sectors and many more.

The News 24 report also said that RASA had approached Ebrahim Patel, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, to request him to release the industry from rental and bank loan payments during the lockdown, and allow for a loan-repayment deferment regime for 60 days. Alberts told News 24 that if the industry did not get the relief it sought from Minister Patel, the entire industry would be wiped out.

“The government allows non-compliant mass rallies on the one hand and closes down an entire industry on the other,” she told Tourism Update. “What about all the illicit restaurants and bars? It’s appalling that they continue operating.”