Labour Minister, Mildred Oliphant has accused the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) of misleading workers, saying it was part of discussions that led to an agreement on the minimum wage.
Saftu is calling on all workers across the country to reject the proposed R 20 per hour minimum wage. It says it will stop at nothing to ensure that workers’ demands are met.
Oliphant says what the union is doing is unacceptable.
“They can’t come up today and mislead the workers ,while they were part and parcel of those discussions previously. When we’re saying it’s a national minimum wage… we’re saying no worker should be paid below 20-rand per hour. As long as you’re employed, you are defined as a worker. But we are saying, where there are wage agreements, minimum wages per sector will not change.”
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Meanwhile, there is a heavy police presence in and around the Johannesburg city centre especially at the Newtown precinct. Many roads have been blocked off.
Members unions affiliated to labour union are starting to arrive at the meeting point from where they will march to places including the premier’s office in the CBD.
