THE proposed national minimum wage appears to be a fait accompli, with the actual amount being the only cause of disagreement between the parties at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac).To resolve the matter, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a panel of seven people, mostly academics, to advise the government on the level at which to set the wage.Researchers from Wits University’s national minimum wage research initiative are of the view that if wages are simply forced up, it will incur no (or only minimal) consequences, and, far from costing jobs, the national minimum wage will "pay for itself" by boosting demand in the economy.In contrast, researchers at the University of Cape Town display a better grasp of reality and understand that legislating an increase in wages will obviously entail adverse consequences.They foresee that employers will alter their behaviour by adopting several possible tactics, including: increasing prices, reducing empl...
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