THE Department of Labour's public hearings on the taxi industry's sectoral determination was a flop in Johannesburg yesterday, with only two taxi operators in attendance.
The department's officials had arrived earlier at the Patterson Park Recreation Centre in Orange Grove for a meeting with taxi owners, drivers, rank marshals and other industry workers - but gave up after it became clear stakeholders were not coming.
Not even officials from the provincial labour department showed up.
Assistant director at the National Directorate for Employment Standards Mogodi Masenya said they had expected at least 50 people at the meeting.
The Department of Labour started holding public hearings last week to review the current minimum wage agreement. The hearings started in Mpumalanga before moving to North West on Tuesday and Wednesday. The hearings will proceed to other provinces next week.
Masenya said the department had done enough to invite people to the meeting and speculated on why there was no show from the industry. "We had gone to taxi ranks and issued flyers inviting people to the meeting today. Generally, taxi operators have no regard for information coming from the government. They prefer it coming from their associations," Masenya said.
"They also have an attitude towards this law (industry sectoral determination), maybe that is why they did not attend."
He said the turnout was good at the Mpumalanga sessions, but not so impressive in North West. The hearings are about the review of the current minimum wage agreement, which says taxi drivers and office administrators should be paid R2499.90 a month, rank marshals R1959.40 and other employees like cleaners R1713.50.
The determination also regulates working hours, which according to the Labour Relations Act should be 48 hours a week for taxi drivers and 45 hours for other employees.
South African Transport and Allied Workers Union taxi sector organiser Oupa Oldjohn said the no-show at the hearing was a result of the department's poor planning.
Ralph Jones, of the Greater Johannesburg Regional Taxi Council and Gauteng Taxi Council, said taxi structures in Johannesburg were not told of the hearing.
Taximen snub wage hearing
THE Department of Labour's public hearings on the taxi industry's sectoral determination was a flop in Johannesburg yesterday, with only two taxi operators in attendance.
The department's officials had arrived earlier at the Patterson Park Recreation Centre in Orange Grove for a meeting with taxi owners, drivers, rank marshals and other industry workers - but gave up after it became clear stakeholders were not coming.
Not even officials from the provincial labour department showed up.
Assistant director at the National Directorate for Employment Standards Mogodi Masenya said they had expected at least 50 people at the meeting.
The Department of Labour started holding public hearings last week to review the current minimum wage agreement. The hearings started in Mpumalanga before moving to North West on Tuesday and Wednesday. The hearings will proceed to other provinces next week.
Masenya said the department had done enough to invite people to the meeting and speculated on why there was no show from the industry. "We had gone to taxi ranks and issued flyers inviting people to the meeting today. Generally, taxi operators have no regard for information coming from the government. They prefer it coming from their associations," Masenya said.
"They also have an attitude towards this law (industry sectoral determination), maybe that is why they did not attend."
He said the turnout was good at the Mpumalanga sessions, but not so impressive in North West. The hearings are about the review of the current minimum wage agreement, which says taxi drivers and office administrators should be paid R2499.90 a month, rank marshals R1959.40 and other employees like cleaners R1713.50.
The determination also regulates working hours, which according to the Labour Relations Act should be 48 hours a week for taxi drivers and 45 hours for other employees.
South African Transport and Allied Workers Union taxi sector organiser Oupa Oldjohn said the no-show at the hearing was a result of the department's poor planning.
Ralph Jones, of the Greater Johannesburg Regional Taxi Council and Gauteng Taxi Council, said taxi structures in Johannesburg were not told of the hearing.
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