All parties bar Cosatu have signed minimum wage deal, Cyril Ramaphosa says
Businesses that are unable to afford the national minimum wage will be able to apply for exemption lasting a year
Parties to the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac), excluding union federation Cosatu, have signed the agreement on the national minimum wage and labour market stability, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said at a media briefing on Wednesday. Ramaphosa was flanked by Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant and director-general Thobile Lamati. He emphasised that the national minimum wage of R20 an hour was not a living wage, but was a start towards achieving it. It would provide trade unions with a platform from which to bargain. The national minimum wage would take effect from no later than May 1 2018 and would improve the lives of millions of workers, Ramaphosa said. It would begin to address income inequality. Currently 6.6-million workers earn less than R3,500, the national minimum wage, for a month of 40-hour weeks. The Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) and the National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu) have signed the agreement. A national minimum wage commission...
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