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As a former trade unionist, Minister of Labour Mildred Oliphant, appointed in 2010, has been at the helm during the most difficult period for the labour landscape post democracy - the Marikana 2012 fatal industrial action and the 2014 five-month record platinum strike.
It has also been under her tenure that the National Minimum Wage became effective on January 1, partly due to the recognition by all social partners at the end of 2014 that the labour sector needed urgent stability.
At R20 per hour for most employees and plans to phase it in for farmworkers and domestic workers, it will raise the salaries of just under half of all people employed in South Africa.
Fin24 spoke to Oliphant about the basic wage and changes in economic and labour trends in this edited interview.
Fin24: A vision for a minimum wage is key to the Freedom Charter. Is 2019 the earliest this could have been implemented?
Mildred Oliphant (MO): Yes, this was the earliest opportunity to do this. Previously workers didn’t have any rights under apartheid. The Freedom Charter promised a minimum wage but didn’t say by when. Our democracy is maturing. During the negotiation process at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac), business and labour wanted to pull out. But at the end of day, you need to discuss and convince each other. I can really say if we were not working together, it would never have happened.
Fin24: How confident are you that the minimum wage legislation will be complied with during these tough economic times?
MO: Organised business has promised to comply and will ensure their members do so. If employers can’t afford to pay the minimum wage, they must apply for an exemption. They must give proof (financial statements). They have to indicate when they will pay the minimum wage and must meaningfully consult unions and affected employees. Workers who feel the legislation is not being complied with must go to the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) and the department of labour process to investigate breaches of the Act.
Fin24: You previously hinted that the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) is hypocritical in opposing the minimum wage by referring to it as “slave wages”. Can you elaborate?
MO: I don’t agree with Saftu when they are saying R20 per hour is peanuts. When you take their biggest union, Numsa (The National Union of Metalworkers), they have negotiated hourly rates of R15 and R17 for petrol attendants. This minimum wage will strengthen that.
Fin24: It cannot be ideal to have Saftu, which includes the largest union in the country, Numsa, falling outside of the Nedlac forum?
MO: There’s a two year process to allow Saftu to be part of Nedlac. They have to submit two years of financial statements and they will then be included if they qualify. [Saftu was established in April 2017]
Fin24: What is the future for unions, already in decline as mechanisation and casual work increase?
MO: I always say that businesses prosper with permanent staff. Employers and workers must have mutual trust and be open to each other. We don’t have that in South Africa. I always caution that strikes should be the last resort and union shopstewards should be better trained in collective bargaining. If we were able to agree to a minimum wage, we will be able to make sure this country succeeds.
