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Johannesburg - Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) benefits will see a change to the maternity benefit, according to Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant.
"The prudent investment of your funds by the UIF management and the board means that government is now in a position to increase unemployment insurance benefits from the current eight months to a year," she said in a speech prepared for delivery.
This was subject to legislative amendment approval.
Oliphant was speaking at a domestic workers imbizo in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
She said other changes to the UIF benefit would be the maternity benefit. It would be increased from the current 121 days to a period of four months based on a flat income replacement rate of 66%.
The maternity benefits would also be applicable to domestic workers.
"In future, we will also be amending legislation on compensation to also include domestic workers. There is no reason why you should be treated any differently from other workers," she said.
Currently, employees on learnerships, those who worked for less than 24 hours a week and public servants were not covered in UIF benefits.
"In future all these workers will be eligible for UIF coverage," said Oliphant.
She called for domestic workers to ensure that their employers complied with UIF laws and registered them.
