Parliament, Thursday, 14 June 2018 – The National Council of Province’s (NCOP’s) Select Committee on Economic and Business Development has called on all South Africans to make use of the opportunity to influence discussions on the National Minimum Wage Bill and related legislation.
The Chairperson of the select committee, Mr Mandla Rayi, said the committee always welcomes the opportunity to engage with South Africans in legislation-making. “The National Minimum Wage Bill will have a long-lasting impact on the lives of the poor. It is a caution that the fifth administration is putting in place to seek to protect those vulnerable workers whose suffering is not remunerated fairly in the workplace,” Mr Rayi said.
The committee accepts that, as with any other piece of legislation, there will be proponents and opponents, but the need to uplift South Africans from poverty is everyone’s responsibility.
Issues around the introduction of a national minimum wage have been under consideration since an announcement was made during the 2014 State of the Nation Address. Parliament was tasked with investigating these issues, and had since set in motion the legislative processes to see the realisation of a national minimum wage.
Mr Rayi said the committee will ensure that a diversity of views is heard on all four pieces of legislation that will enable the introduction of the national minimum wage. “This is the participatory nature of our democracy and the committee is excited to once again take this process to the people,” he said.
The other pieces of legislation under consideration by the committee are the Labour Laws Amendment Bill, the Basic Conditions of Employment Amendment Bill and the Labour Relations Amendment Bill. The public hearings will be on 19 June 2018.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, MR MANDLA RAYI
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Name: Sibongile Maputi (Mr)
Parliamentary Communication Services
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Email: smaputi@parliament.gov.za
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