It is ludicrous to believe that the Department of Labour, with all its lawyers and consultants, could have made the "mistake" of changing the definition of the word "worker" in the National Minimum Wage Bill (Our mistake, Department of Labour concedes, February 1). When the minister was challenged by me in the labour portfolio committee on January 31, she could not answer whether independent contractors would fall under the umbrella of the national minimum wage. It would be tantamount to destroying millions of careers in SA if they did. The national minimum wage legislation has a clause stating that no one can be paid for less than four hours worth of work on any particular day. Can you imagine a true independent contractor demanding four hours of work and the requisite payment after doing a job taking five minutes? Can you imagine engaging any task-based worker to wipe the window of your vehicle and you are obliged to pay for four hours of work? It is my contention that this was no...
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