The Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) says its caseload has increased much more than expected due to new legislation. Over the past year, the CCMA has had to deal with nearly 39,000 retrenchment notices. It says it expects referrals to increase over the next few years as the economy continues to shed jobs.
The National Minimum Wage Act came into force at the beginning of the year. It set the minimum wage at R20 an hour for most workers, but R18 for farmworkers, R15 for domestic workers and R11 for public works programme employees. But the implementation and monitoring of the law is proving to be difficult.
“What has been a problem on the side of the department of employment and labour is there’s a problem with the capacity numbers of inspectors that must attend to the different workplaces,” said CCMA director Cameron Morajane.
“If we had it our way, we’d employ more inspectors. The CCMA says government’s target of six million workers being paid the minimum wage will be tough to reach, as many employers apply for exemptions from the law.
In other news – Pastor Benjamin Dube goes back to school
PASTOR and gospel singer Benjamin Dube is going into the education business. The leader of the Spirit of Praise choir has become a partner at a school called Benjamin Dube Oxford College.
He said he was approached to become a partner by Yamkela Kiviet, who has been running the college for three years. Read more
Source: eNCA
