BusinessLive writes that President Cyril Ramaphosa caved to political pressure from labour federation Cosatu on Friday when he signed four labour bills, including the National Minimum Wage Bill.
The Presidency was apparently planning to enact the bills at a signing ceremony in Kliptown later in November, but only after the contentious process under way to appoint the national minimum wage commission had been completed. However, Cosatu wanted the bills signed without delay to ensure that employers were given the required 30 days to adjust to the new wage system before it comes into effect on 1 January 2019, failing which the system would have been postponed for an even longer period. Cosatu, which is in an alliance with the ANC, backed Ramaphosa’s presidency bid and has resolved to support his return to power in 2019. Another hurdle for Ramaphosa was deadlock over ideal candidates to serve on the minimum wage commission, which will be responsible for the annual review of the national minimum wage. It seems that the business constituency at Nedlac was against the government’s proposal to appoint senior economist at Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies Dr Neva Makgetla and associate professor of sociology at Wits University Sarah Mosoetsa to the commission. Meanwhile, the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) has rejected the signing of the minimum wage bill.
- Read the full original report by Theto Mahlakoana at BusinessLive
- Read too, National minimum wage will protect workers on bottom rung from exploitation, at BusinessLive
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page