Johannesburg - Lack of leadership by the government has led to delays of the national minimum wage negotiations at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac).
This is according to Cosatu’s Neil Coleman who told delegates attending the national minimum wage symposium at Wits University on Wednesday that labour is concerned about the slow pace of talks.
“Since last year, when the an agreement was decided on a definition of a national minimum wage and what the basic architectures of a national minimum wage are, there has been no progress made,” said Coleman.
This as experts shared concerns that there were some within the forum who wanted the minimum wage agreements not to include those currently covered by sectoral determinations.
Coleman complained that business at Nedlac had refused to engage on some of the evidence produced pointing to the upside of the policy’s implementation.
“We are not surprised by businesses response; they had made it clear from last year that they would be dragged kicking and screaming into negotiations on national minimum wage.
Other discussants supported Coleman’s views that the symposium said if the law is applied, it would need to be complemented by strong collective bargaining systems.
“Minimum wage sets the basic floor and acts as a spring board for a much more active collective bargaining system,” explained Coleman.
Labour Bureau