National minimum wage could be delayed: report
The implementation of the national minimum wage could be delayed, as pressure from unions reportedly prevented president Cyril Ramaphosa from pushing for the laws to be passed this week.
According to a report by the City Press, Cosatu raised concerns with the president, who in turn reportedly gave an instruction to not pass the laws needed to implement the minimum wage on 1 May 2018.
While no official statement has been made, the office of the presidency told the paper that, to make sure the laws are as thorough as possible, Ramaphosa has accepted that some delays in the process might happen.
However, the national minimum wage roadshow – which has been educating stakeholders – has shown no indication that the new policy will miss its targeted launch date.
The National Assembly, which needs to approve the laws, is currently in recess, which means there will likely not be enough time to debate and process the laws before the planned 1 May date.
Cabinet approved the National Minimum Wage Bill in November last year.
The national minimum wage was a project spearheaded by Ramaphosa when he was still in his capacity as deputy president.
Under the new laws, employers will have to pay their staff a minimum wage of R20 an hour with the exception of sectors such as the farm/forestry, domestic and expanded public works programme workers.
These latter three groups have been given a longer transition period, being paid R18, R15 and R11 per hour respectively.
It is expected to impact the salaries of over six million people.
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