‘Pay workers above the level’

THE national minimum wage applies to all workers and no employer can pay workers below that level, a senior South African department of labour official told union representatives and other stakeholders at a meeting at uMhlathuze municipality in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, yesterday.

“The national minimum wage will be the floor level below which no worker should be paid and cannot be varied by contract, collective agreement or law,” said Stephen Rathai, director of employment standard.

Rathai was addressing unions and other stakeholders on the national minimum wage which will be implemented in May, as will amendments to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the Labour Relations Act.

“The national minimum wage constitutes a term of a worker’s contract except to the extent that the contract provides for a favourable wage and the employer cannot unilaterally alter the hours of work or other conditions of employment in implementing the national minimum wage,” he said.

On the R20 per hour minimum wage level, Rathai said farm and forestry workers will be paid R18, and domestic workers will be paid R15 from May. Amendments to the basic conditions of employment act deal with the monitoring and enforcement of the national minimum wage including dispute resolutions thereof, he added.

“The amendments include the scope of the department’s inspectorate in terms of monitoring the implementation of the national minimum wage including securing undertakings, enforcement of national minimum wage in sectors with collective agreements including bargaining councils and the referral of non-compliance to the CCMA (Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration).”

Ian Macun, the chief director of employment standards, said the amendments to the Labour Relations Act address the state of the labour relations environment with respect to violent and protracted strikes.

Macun said that one of the amendments to the Act is that a picket will be prohibited unless picketing rules are in place.