We get R60 a day - claim

A CONSTRUCTION company that builds upmarket houses in Secunda, Mpumalanga, has been slated by its workers for allegedly paying low wages and violating labour laws.

Known as Prince of Tides Construction the company is currently building houses that cost between R900,000 and R2-million.

Workers and subcontractors claim the owner, Hui Peng, pays them less than he should - and in cash. The workers say they earn R60 a day.

"We get R60 a day. Other companies have paid us R92," said one of the workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Subcontractors who supply Peng with construction workers alleged that he paid them R127 per square metre, while many local companies paid between R200 to R260 per square metre.

Peng rubbished the allegations. He said no one has complained to him about the wages being too low.

"I pay them R80 a day, not R60 as they claim. What everyone gets is legal and I follow the laws of the department of labour."

Peng further said he negotiated the R127 rate with subcontractors and they agreed.

Building Allied Mining and Construction Workers Union secretary Zolile Simawuse said it was unacceptable that there were people who were still paid in hard cash.

Simawuse said: "Those people do not pay tax and do not have an Unemployment Insurance Fund.

"His rate of R60 is too low. Though the rate is negotiable, construction workers should be making R21 more an hour. An acceptable salary would be more than R3,000."

Department of Labour spokesman Page Boikanyo said: "If there is such a case, workers can report it".

Pierre Fourie of Master Builders South Africa, which represents contractors and employers operating in the building industry, said there was no fixed rate of pay for construction workers.

"We negotiate between the parties involved. Rates also vary based on whether the area is rural or urban," he said.

- bambalelep@sowetan.co.za