Legislation: Minimum wage delay out of my hands – Minister

It ‘may’ not be possible to implement a national minimum wage on 1 May, as originally intended. This was the gist of yesterday evening’s message from Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant, which at the time of writing had yet to be released as an official media statement, reports Pam Saxby for Legalbrief Policy Watch. ‘At this stage, we must all accept and allow the parliamentary processes to unfold without any undue interference,’ the Minister said, encouraging ‘those who have views and opinions’ on the three Bills concerned to ‘approach Parliament’ (SABC News). ‘As the executive, (we) no longer have control of these processes,’ Oliphant added – insisting that ‘the implementation date announced by former Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa last year was always subject to the completion of the parliamentary process’. Department of Labour Director-General Thobile Lamati hinted at a delay of ‘one or two months’ beyond 1 May.

The Minister’s statement elaborated on a reference to the national minimum wage in a press release following last weekend’s ANC national executive committee meeting. Among other things, the committee noted ‘anticipated delays’ in implementing the national minimum wage – calling on Parliament to ‘fast-track the legislative process’, which should nevertheless be as ‘rigorous and as inclusive as possible’. In the interests of a ‘properly managed’ process, the national executive committee would like to see ‘consultations with organised labour’ continue.

During the second day of parliamentary hearings on the Bills last week, National Assembly Committee acting chair Sharome van Schalkwyk would not be drawn on a timeframe within which she expects her colleagues to complete their deliberations on the proposed new statutes, as Legalbrief Today reported at the time. According to the latest committee meeting schedule, today’s deliberations will focus on ‘submission summaries’ and ‘the way forward’ in processing them. Tomorrow, the Department of Labour is expected to respond to each submission, informing further discussions on how best to proceed.

As Legalbrief Today has also reported, in the view of Economic Justice co-director Neil Coleman the Bills undermine the ‘significant agreements’ reached in February 2017 at the end of a protracted National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) process. Coleman was lead negotiator for organised labour in the Nedlac wage inequality task team established to reach agreement on a national minimum wage. Presenting his perspectives in a detailed submission, he reminded committee members that the National Minimum Wage Bill, Basic Conditions of Employment Amendment Bill and Labour Relations Amendment Bill ‘are not themselves a product of engagement in Nedlac’ but should nevertheless reflect it.