According to Fin24 After months of wrangling, the combined trade unions represented at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) may at last be reaching an agreed position on a national minimum wage.
A meeting of the labour group will be held on 14 June to thrash out remaining differences, before a meeting with President Jacob Zuma on 21st.
Should an agreement be reached, this meeting could be the prelude to a move within the next few months to establish a national minimum wage. However, how, whether or when any such determination will apply to existing low-wage determinations for domestic, farm and forestry workers remain to be decided.
Government has indicated that a national minimum wage of slightly more than R3 000 a month may be acceptable. This is roughly in line with the mandated position of the Federation of Unions. However, Cosatu has continued to press for a R4 500 minimum although officials have hinted that this could drop to perhaps R 3 700.
The National Council of Trade Unions, the third member of Nedlac’s labour component, wants minimum wages on a regional or even sectoral basis, a position that seems untenable.
