by Courtney Hallink | Aug 3, 2020 | French
par Courtney Hallink, 28 Juillet 2020
Traduction par Christine Cayré.
On peut lire l’article par Courtney Hallink ici.
Le 21 Avril 2020, le Président Ramaphosa a annoncé la création d’un fonds de soutien de 500 milliards de Rands en réponse à la pandémie de COVID-19. Le montant annoncé comprend des compléments de revenus pour les personnes qui bénéficient déjà d’allocations ainsi que la création d’une indemnité d’urgence spéciale coronavirus. Cette indemnité d’urgence est versée aux personnes sans emploi qui ne sont pas éligibles à l’indemnité chômage et aux travailleurs informels qui ne peuvent plus exercer d’activité pendant le confinement.
L’annonce du fonds de soutien a fait suite à l’envoi d’une lettre ouverte au Président Ramaphosa signée par un groupe de plus de 75 économistes et autres universitaires qui appellent à l’adoption d’un Revenu Universel de Base. L’Afrique du Sud a déjà un impressionnant système d’allocations, en place depuis bien avant la pandémie et dispose donc de l’infrastructure nécessaire pour effectuer les versements monétaires aux citoyens.
Un peu plus de 30 pour cent de la population et environ 44 pour cent des foyers perçoivent tous les mois une allocation versée et financée par le gouvernement. Malgré l’envergure impressionnante du programme d’allocations sud-africain, les adultes économiquement actifs en sont généralement exclus. Dans le cadre du fonds d’urgence, les adultes en âge de travailler vont percevoir une allocation de 350 rands par mois pendant 6 mois, à compter de May 2020. Le 13 juillet dernier, la Ministre du Développement Social, Lindiwe Zulu a annoncé que le gouvernement avait l’intention de mettre en œuvre un revenu minimum de base à partir d’octobre 2020, date à laquelle le versement spécial coronavirus prendra fin. Un document de travail du Congrès National Africain (ANC) précise que le gouvernement souhaite adopter une politique progressive vers la mise en œuvre du revenu universel proposé. Une des premières étapes consisterait à verser l’allocation aux personnes actives et aux chômeurs âgés de 19 à 59 ans, soit les mêmes personnes qui perçoivent actuellement l’allocation d’urgence spéciale coronavirus. Cela représente environ 13 millions de personnes.
L’étape ultime de cette mise en œuvre progressive serait le versement d’un revenu minimum de base à tous les résidents sud-africains de19 à 59 ans, soit environ 33 millions de personnes. Ce revenu ‘universel’ minimum s’ajouterait au système d’allocations existant au lieu de remplacer les revenus sociaux déjà en place (y compris la pension alimentaire pour les enfants de moins de 19 ans et la pension pour personnes âgées de plus de 59 ans). Cela donnerait effectivement naissance à un revenu universel pour les adultes en âge de travailler tout en maintenant une garantie de revenu minimum ciblée pour les personnes de 18 ans et moins et de 60 ans et plus. Le revenu minimum de base proposé ici ne répond donc pas aux exigences d’un revenu de base universel tel que défini par le BIEN. Néanmoins, il s’agit d’une étape notable vers l’amélioration de la sécurisation du revenu des adultes en âge de travailler en Afrique du Sud.
Cette annonce de revenu minimum de base intervient après plusieurs tentatives infructueuses dans les vingt dernières années d’étendre le système de revenus sociaux aux personnes en âge de travailler. Le premier de ces essais était une proposition de revenu minimum de base qui émanait d’une commission pour la protection sociale désignée par le gouvernement au début des années 2000. Le deuxième fut une proposition appuyée par l’ANC en 2012 qui aurait consisté en une allocation pour les demandeurs d’emploi destinée à toutes les personnes en âge de travailler et qui visait à les soutenir dans leur recherche de travail. Cette proposition n’a pas obtenu le succès attendu et a finalement été abandonnée.
Le document de travail élaboré par l’ANC à propos du revenu minimum de base souligne que ce revenu est une réponse aux retombées économiques causées par la pandémie de COVID-19. Pourtant, comme le rappelle Isobel Frye, de l’Institut d’Etude de la Pauvreté et des Inégalités, cette proposition de revenu minimum de base est en discussion depuis environ 10 mois, soit bien avant la survenue de la pandémie. A ce stade, il est encore difficile de savoir si le revenu minimum de base deviendra une composante permanente du système d’allocations sociales en Afrique du Sud ou bien si ce sera seulement un amortisseur temporaire pendant que le pays se remet des conséquences économiques de la pandémie de COVID-19.
On peut lire cet article en anglais ici
by Courtney Hallink | Jul 28, 2020 | News
There is a translation of this article into French
On 21 April 2020, President Ramaphosa announced a 500 Billion Rand relief package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The package included top-ups for existing cash transfer recipients and the introduction of an emergency ‘coronavirus grant’. The emergency grant is available to unemployed individuals who are not eligible for the contributory Unemployment Insurance Fund and informal workers who are unable to work during the lockdown.
The announcement of the relief package followed the submission of an open letter to President Ramaphosa by a group of 75 economists and academics calling for the adoption of a Universal Basic Income (UBI). South Africa already had an impressive system of cash transfers in place prior to the pandemic and therefore has the infrastructure required in order to get people cash. Over 30 per cent of the population and approximately 44 per cent of households receive a government-funded cash transfer each month. Despite the impressive reach of South Africa’s social grant system, it has historically excluded economically active adults. Under the emergency grant, working-age adults receive R350 a month for a total of 6 months, beginning in May 2020.
On 13 July, the Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu announced that the government is intending to implement a basic income grant (BIG) from October 2020, the last month the coronavirus grant is available. A discussion document by the African National Congress (ANC) outlined that the government would adopt a graduated approach to implement the proposed universal grant. One of the first steps would be to provide the grant to the economically active and unemployed between the ages of 19 and 59, the same group that is now receiving the emergency coronavirus grant. This includes approximately 13 million individuals.
The final step in the graduated approach would be a universal BIG that would be provided to all South African residents between the ages of 19 and 59, approximately 33 million people. The ‘universal’ BIG would add on to the country’s existing grant system rather than replacing the social grants already in place (including the CSG for individuals under the age of 19 and the Old Age Pension for individuals over the age of 59). It would effectively create a universal income for working-age adults while keeping a targeted minimum income guarantee for individuals 18 and under and 60 and over. The proposed BIG therefore does not meet the requirements of a universal basic income as defined by BIEN. Nevertheless, it is a notable step towards increasing income security for working-age adults in South Africa.
The announcement for a BIG has come after several failed attempts to extend the country’s social grant system to working-age adults over the last two decades. The first was a proposal for a BIG made by a government-appointed social protection committee in the early 2000s. The second was the push for a Job Seekers’ Grant by the ANC in 2012, which would have provided cash transfers to the working-age population in order to help people look for work. This too made little headway and the proposal was eventually scrapped.
The BIG discussion document drafted by the ANC outlines that the BIG is a response to the economic fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet Isobel Frye at the Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute shared that the BIG has been under discussion for approximately 10 months, far before the onset of the pandemic. At this point it is unclear whether the BIG will become a permanent feature of South Africa’s social grant system or if it will act as a temporary buffer while the country’s economy catches up after the setback from the COVID-19 pandemic.
by Courtney Hallink | Apr 20, 2020 | News
The Dutch government has implemented a new programme for self-employed individuals who have suffered a loss of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic – the Temporary bridging measure for self-employed professionals (Tozo). The new arrangement entitles individuals who are self-employed to up to 1050 Euros per month for single individuals or up to 1500 Euros per month for couples for a total of three months.
After the 2008 financial crisis, thousands of individuals who applied for unemployment benefits – known as Bijstand – had to sell their homes before they were able to qualify. A notable feature of the new arrangement is that an individual’s eligibility is not reliant on whether or not they own a house or have any other assets. This is seen as a step forward for those would like to see the adoption of a Basic Income in the Netherlands.
The new arrangement does not, however, meet the criteria for a Basic Income for a number of reasons. BIEN’s definition of a basic income is a periodic cash payment unconditionally delivered to all on an individual basis, without means test or work requirements. Under BIEN’s definition, a Basic Income has five key criteria: it is unconditional of income, there is no work requirement, it is individual, it is universal, and it is periodic.
It does not meet the first requirement as the new programme only includes individuals whose monthly income has fallen under the national minimum. It meets the second criterion in that there is no work requirement. It does not meet the third, fourth or fifth requirements as it is not individual (as less is paid to individuals in a couple) or universal, and it will only be provided temporarily. It is however quite generous as it is in line with the living wage.
While the new arrangement does not meet BIEN’s UBI criteria, it has helped to give UBI supporters the footing they need to push the Basic Income agenda further. Alexander de Roo, member of the Green Party and chairman of the Basic Income Network Netherlands, has written an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Rutte, calling for the adoption of a temporary UBI in response to COVID-19 and a permanent UBI to be implemented after the general election in March 2021.
The open letter referred to in this article can be found here. (Readers might wish to be aware that ‘Basisinkomen’ as used in this letter does not always accord with BIEN’s definition of Basic Income)
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by Courtney Hallink | Oct 31, 2019 | News
Ann Wheatley (from the PEI Working Group for a Livable Income). Picture credit to: CBC
Despite the dismantling of Ontario’s Basic Income pilot after the election of the Conservative Party in the 2018 provincial election, basic income continues to play a critical role in Canadian politics, both at the provincial and national level. Leading up to the 2019 federal election, the Prince Edward Island (PEI) Working Group for a Liveable Income decorated doors across the province with doorhangers that read, “Eliminating poverty matters to voters who live here.” The doorhangers would help spread the message to candidates when they came to do their usual canvasing before the election on October 21st.
The Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau, emerged as the winner in the election, forming a minority government after only securing a narrow victory. The Liberal Party, who officially supports a basic income guarantee, won in all ridings across PEI. Regardless of the setback in Ontario, basic income continues to be an important issue to Canadian voters.
More information at:
Yarr K.,“‘Sorry to have missed you’: Poverty activists turn tables on door-knocking politicians”, CBC, September 30th 2019
“Canadian federal election 2019: Live results map and riding-by-riding vote counts”, Maclean’s, October 21st 2019
