The Citizen writes that with Deputy President Cyil Ramaphosa’s assertion that the institution of a R20 an hour national minimum wage (NMW) won’t alleviate poverty, the fact remains that there aren’t enough jobs to go around.  

Economist Mike Schüssler said:  “Our biggest problem is jobs.  I would rather have more jobs than a few people in jobs, getting more money.  While we want to up the minimum wage, we must be careful because we already have 27% unemployment.”  Economist Azar Jammine said one of the problems was that more households were dependent on one income earner.  Ramaphosa, who answered questions in Parliament on Wednesday, agreed there were concerns that businesses might not be able to pay, and jobs may be lost.  But he said businesses in that position could apply for a 12-month exemption.  The institution of a R3,500 a month NMW will be effective in a year’s time.

• Read this report by Yadhana Jadoo and Denise Williams in full at The Citizen
• Read too, Deputy President reports on minimum wages, at The New Age

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page