MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Cabinet has approved the National Minimum Wage Bill, Basic Conditions of Employment Amendment Bill and Labour Relations Amendment Bill.

These bills will now be submitted to the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces for concurrence and enactment. 

The bills will appear in the Government Gazette on 10 November.

The National Minimum Wage Bill (NMW Bill) makes provision for the introduction of a minimum wage of R20 per hour, which is due to come into effect on 1 May 2018.

Exceptions
There are a few exceptions to the national minimum wage which include:

• The minimum wage for farm workers will be 90% of R20 per hour (R18 per hour);

• The minimum wage for domestic workers will be 75% of R20 per hour (R15 per hour);

• The minimum wage for workers on an Expanded Public Works Programme is R11 per hour).

Nedlac social partners have agreed that the farm, forestry and domestic sectors will be brought up to 100% of the NMW within two years, pending research by the National Minimum Wage Commission.

Improving conditions of employment
The Basic Conditions of Employment Bill, 2017 seeks to introduce amendments to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 in line with the enactment of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2017.

The primary amendments to be introduced relate to the repeal of sections of the BCEA that relate to the making of sectoral determinations and the powers and functions of the Employment Conditions Commission.

Amendments are also made that affect monitoring and enforcement by the labour inspectorate to apply to compliance with the national minimum wage and unemployment insurance and the jurisdiction of the CCMA is extended to include enforcement procedures and claims for underpayment in terms of the BCEA, the national minimum wage, unemployment insurance legislation, and claims arising from contracts or collective agreements.

ARTICLE: SAnews.gov.za

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