National minimum wage figure about to be concluded

Transform SA is informed that the nation might be closer to settle for the minimum wage figure sooner than expected. This is after the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) gave its task team until July to reach an agreement and report back to a committee headed by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Nedlac is a consensus-seeking statutory body made up of representatives of business, labour, government and communities. It is charged with examining the role of a national minimum wage in dealing with poverty and inequality.
A representative of Nedlac who is part of the negotiating team, Council of Trade Unions (Nactu) general secretary, Narius Moloto, said discussions still required lots of input and information. “In principle, we have agreed. There are differences on figures. The question is at what level and form,” he said.
He added that the current focus of the discussions is whether the minimum wage should be sectoral or across the board. The next step would be to look at countries with a minimum wage such as Brazil and Japan, but adapted to local conditions.
Representing government, the Department of Labour’s labour relations Chief Director, Thembinkosi Mkalipi, said it was still too early to tell what the benefits of a minimum wage would be. “It will depend on the agreements reached,” he commented.