Limpopo starts taxi wage hearings

Johannesburg - Public hearings on minimum wages in the taxi industry were under way in Phalaborwa, Limpopo, on Tuesday, the labour department said.

"The engagements were aimed at soliciting inputs from the employers and employees," spokesperson Johannes Mokou said.

Under the current minimum wage, which expires on June 30, a taxi driver is paid R2 449.90 a month, an administration worker R2 449.90 and a rank marshall R1 959.40.

Assistant director in the department, Mogodi Masenya, said the process of increasing the sector's minimum wage should be based on creating and retaining employment within the sector.

Masenya said employers in the taxi industry should conduct their businesses successfully, while considering the cost of living and the aim of alleviating poverty.