Minimum wages must be sectoral, says DA

The DA says it rejects a blanket national minimum wage, arguing that this would lead to job losses and lock the unemployed out of the labour market.

This party position contrasts with the support given by some of its members for a minimum wage at the party’s recent national congress. Some maintained that a minimum wage was important for the protection of workers.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Parliament’s portfolio committee on labour is due to receive oral presentations from various stakeholders, including unions, on the labour bills.

These propose, among other things, the setting of a national minimum wage at R20 an hour or R3,500 a month, to be reviewed annually, except for domestic and farm workers, whose rate will be set at R15 and R18 an hour. Amendments to the Labour Relations Act would also require unions to ballot their members about strikes.

On Monday, DA leader Mmusi Maimane said the Basic Conditions of Employment Amendment Bill, the National Minimum Wage Bill and the Labour Relations Amendment Bill sought to replace the current sectoral minimum wage approach with a blanket national minimum wage.

The DA proposed the establishment of an independent panel, which cannot be unduly influenced by politicians, big business or big labour unions, mandated to set minimum wages for each sector, taking into consideration all relevant factors, including the need to create jobs. This approach, said Maimane, would in some sectors allow the setting of a minimum wage higher than that proposed, while protecting the vulnerable in the economy.

The DA thought a blanket national minimum wage was unfeasible, “no matter how politically convenient it is for the ANC”, said Maimane.