The national minimum wage dominated the National Council of Trade Unions Workers Day celebrations. The union hailed it as a great achievement.
The organisation has criticised those opposed to the R3 500 minimum wage as being ill-informed, warning that it should not be politicised.
Nactu celebrated Workers Day under the theme, “Building an inclusive economy and fighting corruption.” It says the national minimum wage is the right policy intervention which will go a long way in addressing inequality.
While Nactu was praising the achievements of the national minimum wage, the Pan Africanist Congress was celebrating the day with an affiliate of Nactu the Professional Educators Union near Ngqeleni in the Eastern Cape.
The party does not share Nactu’s view.
“The issue of minimum wage that has been recently pronounced is pathetic as far as we are concerned, and as PAC we are supporting the position of Saftu that they should be a living wage of R12 500. You will know that our people are living under poverty stricken lines,” says PAC President Luthando Mbinda.
Nactu has called on the eradication of corruption, saying it stunts growth leading to high unemployment levels. The organisation is calling for beneficiation of resources to grow the economy and for the previously disadvantaged to be given the necessary assistance so they can play a bigger role in the economy.
Meanwhile, Nactu is not supporting its biggest affiliate Amcu in its call to boycott the celebrations, Amcu wants Workers’ Day commemorated on the 16 August to remember those who perished in the Marikana tragedy.
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Minimum Wage App
The National Minimum Wage Act, 2017 is set to be implemented in May 2018. However, according to the Department of Labour, the process could be delayed by one or two months.
SABC Digital News and OpenUp (formerly Code for South Africa) has partnered to develop a Minimum Wage App that will give answers to the question: “Can South Africans survive on R3 500?”
Where does the information come from?
OpenUp has used the following data sources:
- Stats SA “Poverty Trends in South Africa” report
- Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community Social Action (PACSA) “Food Price Barometer“
- Stats SA “Income and Expenditure of Households Survey”
How is it calculated?
The money available for food is calculated by subtracting the money used for other expenses from household income. It could be said that it comes after these expenses, though they are actually in conjunction with each other.
