A national minimum wage protects the vulnerable
PARLIAMENT is on the cusp of changing our legislation in order to accommodate a national minimum wage. The three pieces of legislation to be changed are:
● The Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
● The National Minimum Wage Bill.
● Labour Relations Act Amendment Bill. These three pieces of legislation are inter-related and are set to be implemented on May1. There is no guarantee that it will be implemented on that date, but our president has indicated that he wishes to implement on that date or as soon thereafter as possible.
Should any party be interested in making representations, this must be done before March 16 at 4.30pm. There is a special call to all the trade unions and to employers’ organisations to submit their comments whether they support or otherwise.
The address for comment would be: Mr Zolani Sakasa, zsakasa@parliament.gov.za.
The aim of the changes to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act is to ensure that the daily wage payment applicable to employees is as per the national minimum wage.
The idea is to extend the jurisdiction of the CCMA and give more power to the labour inspectorate. This payment of the minimum wage will be enforced through the CCMA.
There will also be a provision allowing the CCMA to adjudicate claims for under payment and to provide for transitional arrangements.
The National Minimum Wage Bill is to provide for a minimum wage, and to establish a commission. This commission will review and annually adjust the national minimum wage. The commission will also provide for exemption from paying the national minimum wage.
The transitional provisions will come into place in respect of farmworkers and domestic workers. These provisions mean that it will take some time before farmworkers and domestic workers receive the national minimum wage.
The national minimum wage is set at R20 an hour and when it comes into force, people will be paid a minimum of 4 hours per day.
Already in South Africa today about 70% of the workforce do fall under a minimum wage either through the Bargaining Councils or through ministerial determinations.
This minimum wage is applicable to workers only and will obviously not be applicable to independent contractors and people who work for themselves.
This national minimum wage has already been debated in the Nedlac forum between the trade unions, employers organisations and the government.
The national minimum wage commission will take into account a number of factors including the cost of living and minimum living levels in order to assess the adjustment on an annual basis. The government has undertaken to periodically review this wage that should take into account the economic impact on employment, working poverty and wage inequality.
Once the minimum wage has been introduced, no employer may unilaterally alter downwards conditions of employment and hours of work, including those currently contained in private contracts, sectorial determinations or collective agreements, because of the introduction of the minimum wage. Should any employer do this, it will constitute non-compliance and/or unfair labour practice.
At this stage, there is an agreement that no businesses will be excluded from the minimum wage. Small businesses and start-ups will need to be assisted to understand the implementation of this minimum wage.
If any business finds it to be unaffordable, they will be provided with information needed to enable them to apply for exemptions and on how to make use of incentive schemes offered.
The exemption process will be simple and efficient, and it will include training and education.
The Department of Labour and the CCMA are in the process of training and capacitating inspectors.
There will be exclusions for the Expanded Public Works Programme and the community works programme. This will be reviewed in due course.
The real issue is for the government to avoid and prevent job losses. In line with this, there will be an ongoing assessment of the national minimum wage so as to ensure that the fears of massive job losses are alleviated.
The government will continue to meet the Bargaining Councils in order to discuss the national minimum wage. Any wages higher than the national minimum wage cannot be unilaterally decreased after the introduction of the national minimum wage.