Chasm yawns on national minimum wage

AN AGREEMENT on a national minimum wage is unlikely with a Cosatu document revealing that labour and business are at least R2 000 a month apart on what they want.

Cosatu says new evidence from labour showed a “more realistic” national poverty line of R4 014 for a household of four, while business had indicated it wanted the wage to be set close to the lowest current wage sectoral determination, which is for domestic workers.

The amount that domestic workers must earn according to the law is going up in December, and ranges from R1 412.49 to R2 230.70 a month, depending on where they work and for how many hours.

South Africa has the world’s largest income gaps, and a minimum wage has been proposed as one way to deal with inequality.

However, organised business has had to be dragged in kicking and screaming.

“Business was indicating at the time of writing (the Cosatu document) that they were not interested in a national minimum wage based on evidence of poverty.

“They were indicating that the rate should be set largely based on possible jobs and profit impacts.

“Labour’s view was that while the potential for job impacts should not be ignored, the potential for job losses needed to be mitigated through putting in place appropriate industrial policies to protect and/or grow jobs in targeted areas,” the document reads.

The document, which is Cosatu’s draft organisational report for its national congress next week, illuminates how big the chasm is between the social partners at the National Economic, Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) which has been instructed to investigate what the minimum wage should be and how to implement it.

Nedlac and the government, which has tasked Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa to head the process, have been cagey about details of the talks.