Ramaphosa signs minimum wage bill into law

26th November 2018

By: Reuters

  

Font size: - +

President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law the national minimum wage bill, his office said on Monday, part of efforts by the government to tackle wage inequality in Africa's most industrialised economy.

The National Minimum Wage Act sets South Africa's minimum wage at R20 an hour, equal to R3 500 per month. The law will come into force on a date to be determined by Ramaphosa, the presidency said.

Supporters of the minimum wage say it will reduce inequality and stimulate economic growth as workers spend more.

But critics say it could lead to increased unemployment, already at record highs, because some employers won't be able to afford higher wage bills.

Thousands of union members protested against the proposed minimum wage in April, saying it was too low.

Ramaphosa's office said in a statement that while the national minimum wage will not end income inequality, it was a first step towards addressing the clamour for a living wage.

Edited by Reuters

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION