Proposed minimum wage gets stick

The proposed new minimum

wage of R3 500 per month

– announced by deputy

president Cyril Ramaphosa

on Sunday – “will do little to

improve the circumstances

of existing workers, while

further limiting access to the

labour market for unemployed

people”.

This according to research

analyst at the Institute

for Race Relations (IRR),

Gabriela Mackay, who pointed

out it had been set at such a

‘low’ level that it would further

open the business community,

the ruling party and

government to the accusation

that they were promoting the

exploitation of the poor. “We

expect that it will become a

new rallying point for critics

of the government and the

business community,” she said.

The Federation of Unions of

South Africa (Fedusa) said in a

statement it would not accept

any figure below R4 500 but

Ramaphosa noted that a panel

of advisers had cautioned that

a higher figure could exclude

workers from obtaining jobs.

He said the panel had also

discussed how to deal with

labour instability and there had

been agreement on balloting

before a strike happened.

CAPTION

Deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa.