'Broad agreement on need for national minimum wage'

The minimum wage technical task team established under the auspices of Nedlac is currently focused on finalising the definition of a national minimum wage‚ on which for the first time in South Africa there is broad agreement needs to be introduced‚ Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Saturday.

He said the task team was considering whether the national minimum wage‚ in its application‚ would provide for sector-specific or business entity exclusions.

It was also looking at the appropriate legal and institutional arrangements and how to ensure compliance‚ Ramaphosa added in his opening remarks to a workshop on international minimum wage experiences held in Midrand.

Ramphosa said there was in principle agreement that the “national minimum wage shall be the legal floor for a defined period of time‚ guaranteed by law‚ below which no employee may be paid in South Africa”.

“There is agreement that a national minimum wage will apply to all employees‚ both in the public and private sectors‚ unless provided for otherwise by an exclusion‚ phase-in or phase-out in an upfront agreement‚” he stated.

South Africa‚ he added‚ had a long tradition of collective bargaining – “one that we do not want to undermine through the introduction of a national minimum wage”.

“We also have a successful history of minimum wage regulation through sectoral determinations.

We see no reason to abandon this wage regulating measure‚” Ramaphosa said.

“There is broad agreement on a number of important issues:

- Collective agreements‚ including bargaining council agreements‚ sectoral determinations and contracts of employment‚ may not make provision for a wage that is lower than the national minimum wage‚ but may only vary wages upwards.

- Depending on the minimum wage level‚ however‚ certain exceptions may be needed. Nevertheless‚ it is generally agreed that comprehensive coverage is desirable and that a patchwork approach should be avoided

- The body that will be responsible for determining a national minimum wage will be a body similar to the Employment Conditions Commission‚ which currently recommends minimum wages and conditions of employment on a sector basis to the Minister of Labour.

- The composition of the Employment Conditions Commission includes representatives of organised business and labour and independent experts. This composition provides a sound building block for a future body that will determine and periodically review a national minimum wage.

“I understand that the NEDLAC task team will also be considering the resource and research capacity requirements of such a body and other aspects of its role and function‚” the deputy president added.

“This year‚ South Africa is commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Freedom Charter‚ which provides a compelling vision of new society in which all may thrive and prosper. It is therefore a matter of great significance that we stand poised to realise the call made in the Freedom Charter for a national minimum wage.

“It is an indication of the progress we have made in the first two decades of democracy and a signal of our determination to address the inequalities that remain in our society‚” Ramaphosa said.

He added: “In moving forward‚ we need to keep an open mind‚ to learn from other experiences and craft an approach that will be suitable to South Africa’s social and economic conditions. Today and tomorrow we will have to engage in an accelerated learning experience to understand the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

“We are also called upon to find an approach to a national minimum wage that significantly improves the lives of workers‚ that reduces inequality‚ that lifts people out of poverty‚ and that contributes to economic growth and job creation.”