outh African Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi said that employers affected by the recent unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal will be able to apply for support through the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) as soon as next week. About 75 000 employees have been affected by the looting and damage to infrastructure, which could cause a temporal work stoppage or an outright retrenchment. On Wednesday, Nxesi elaborated on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement on Sunday about a range of measures the government will implement to provide support for South Africans. The monthly social relief distress grant of R350 has been reinstated and will remain in place until March 2022.