AN EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME OR A WORKSEEKERS GRANT

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) argues that South Africa faces a structural unemployment crisis, with approximately 9.6 million unemployed as of June 2018 and a severe lack of social protection for adults. To address this, the IEJ proposes either a universal employment guarantee scheme (EGS) modeled after India's NREGA, guaranteeing 100 days of work per year, or a workseekers grant providing a flat monthly amount (suggested at R1000 for six months a year). Both options are estimated to cost between R30-36 billion per annum. The IEJ suggests financing these schemes through a R15 billion annual contribution from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) surplus, supplemented by solidarity taxes such as a wealth tax and restructured corporate income tax.

• South Africa suffers from deep structural unemployment where active labour market measures like retraining have limited impact. As of the first quarter of 2018, over 41% of workseekers had been unemployed for more than three years, and approximately 68% (4.2 million people) had been unemployed for more than one year.
• Existing social protection for adult unemployed is insufficient; the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) covers less than 10% of the unemployed, providing benefits for a maximum of one year only to those who previously contributed.
• The proposed Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS) would guarantee every household 100 days of work per year on EPWP or CWP programmes at the minimum wage. If work is unavailable, the beneficiary would receive an equivalent monetary benefit. This model is based on India's NREGA.
• The proposed Workseekers Grant would be a non-conditional flat amount (estimated at R1000 per month for six months a year) for unemployed adults who do not qualify for UIF benefits, serving as a step toward a universal Basic Income Grant (BIG).
• Both proposed schemes are estimated to cost between R30 billion and R36 billion per year starting from 2019. An EGS for 3 million households at R100 per day for 100 days would cost R30 billion, while a grant for 6 million unemployed at R1000 per month for six months would cost R36 billion.
• The IEJ proposes that the UIF contribute R15 billion per year from its surplus, which was over R140 billion in 2017/18. The remaining costs would be covered by the fiscus through solidarity taxes, including a wealth tax (estimated R32-130 billion) and a super-rich personal income tax bracket (estimated R27-47 billion).

APA

Coleman, N. (2018). AN EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME OR A WORKSEEKERS GRANT. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Stream-4-Policy-Brief-2-An-Employment-Guarantee-Scheme-or-a-Workseekers-Grant.pdf

Chicago

Coleman, Neil. AN EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME OR A WORKSEEKERS GRANT. Institute for Economic Justice, 2018. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Stream-4-Policy-Brief-2-An-Employment-Guarantee-Scheme-or-a-Workseekers-Grant.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Coleman |first1=Neil |title=AN EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME OR A WORKSEEKERS GRANT |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=August 2018 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Stream-4-Policy-Brief-2-An-Employment-Guarantee-Scheme-or-a-Workseekers-Grant.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{coleman2018employment, author = {Coleman, Neil}, title = {{AN EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME OR A WORKSEEKERS GRANT}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2018}, month = aug, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Stream-4-Policy-Brief-2-An-Employment-Guarantee-Scheme-or-a-Workseekers-Grant.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }