Home

Numsa rejects DA’s resolution on national minimum wage

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) says it is disgusted by the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) resolution to allow workers to “Opt Out” of the National Minimum Wage agreement if they wish to do so.

The DA proposed at its conference over the weekend that unemployed workers should be given a Job Seekers Exemption Certificate. This is to allow them to enter into contracts which would allow the employer to pay less than R3 500 per month.

The agreement was signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in February but the implementation date of 1 May postponed to allow MPs time to consider more than 40 public submissions received on the draft legislation.

Numsa president, Andrew Chirwa says the union has already rejected government’s current offer, describing it as a poverty wage.

He says the DA’s new proposal of opting for less than the current offer is an indication that the party wants the current status quo of slave wages to continue.

Chirwa says the DA’s new proposal of opting for less than the current offer is an indication that the party wants the current status quo of slave wages to continue.

He says: “We are not surprised with this move by the DA because it has always been our view that the DA in this country is a party of the bosses.”

“So therefore for the DA workers can earn poverty wages it’s Ok while the bosses every month continue to receive huge packs in a form of bonus, for the DA that status quo must continue,” says Chirwa.

Author

MOST READ