National Minimum Wage: Readiness and Implementation

The Department of Labour’s Inspection and Enforcement Services (IES) branch announced that it will be conducting a nationwide campaign to assess levels of compliance with labour laws, especially the newly-introduced National Minimum Wage (NMW) Act. This law is applicable to Nigerians in South Africa who have businesses with employees. Please take note of the government’s regulations.

Importance of enforcement to ensure compliance with labour laws

The Department of Labour’s Deputy Director-General of Inspection and Enforcement Services (IES), Aggy Moiloa said that the department understands the importance of enforcement to ensure compliance with the labour laws of the country. She said the Department had 1392 inspectors who were ready to monitor compliance with the NMW Act.

She said the Department of Labour will be utilising its Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) specialist inspectors to enforce the NMW Act. The NMW Act was conceived from the BCEA.

Advocacy, inspection and enforcement

Moiloa further added that the department’s strategy to enforce NMW was premised on three pillars – that is advocacy, inspection and enforcement.

The Deputy Director-General held a workshop on the performance levels of the organisation in Pretoria. The core of her presentation was on the state of readiness by the Department’s IES branch to enforce the implementation of the National Minimum Wage.

The National Minimum Wage is R20

The National Minimum Wage came into effect on 1 January 2019. The NMW is R20, the minimum rate at which workers should earn per hour.  

Moiloa said the Department was aware of the burden imposed by NMW to CCMA resources and was ready to assist. She said aggrieved workers on issues of NMW can take their complaints to the Department’s Labour Centres or directly report to the CCMA. 

She said as part of its readiness the Department already had the following in place:

  • Case management systems have been developed;
  • The CCMA has conducted training on their system in order for the inspectorate to refer cases; and
  • Inspectors have been trained to monitor compliance with the NMW Act. 

She reiterated that the Wholesale and Retail sectors would be areas of focus as these sectors have been identified as problematic.

Enquiries:
Teboho Thejane
Cell: 082 697 0694

Press release issued by Department of Labour

Read more press releases

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