Unemployed and low-income workers will be most affected

ANATIONAL minimum wage will jeopardise the jobs of lower-income employees, the Free Market Foundation (FMF) has warned. It would also make it difficult for about 9.4 million unemployed people to get jobs, foundation executive director Temba Nolutshungu told the National Council of Province’s economic and business development committee yesterday.

The committee was taking oral submissions on the national minimum wage and other labour laws.

The legislation provides for a minimum R20 per hour wage or R3 500 monthly salary.

Nolutshungu called for “automatic” exemption of employers who could not afford the minimum wage based on the number of workers and profit.

If this wage demand was implemented, many small businesses could close down, he cautioned.

“We appeal to members (of the committee) to introduce economic sanity to this scenario due to the nature of challenges related to unemployment confronting us in this country,” he said.

Nolutshungu lamented that the legislation focused on low-income workers, already in jobs, and not those who were unemployed.

He questioned why no urgent commission was appointed to inquire into the high-unemployment rate and find ways to increase real demand for labour.

MP Lungelwa Zwane said that the realities of South Africa’s economic climate needed to be taken into account.

“We are sympathetic to those people who are unemployed.

“No government will enjoy an increasing number being unemployed, but we need to look at that against the number of those who suffer low wages,” Zwane added.

Shane Godfrey, of the labour and enterprise

PLEA FOR ECONOMIC SANITY MADE DUE TO NATURE OF CHALLENGES COUNTRY FACES