Cyril Ramaphosa writes that apartheid’s shadow of poverty, unemployment and inequality still casts a troubling pall over the salary advice slips of millions of South Africans.
The unsettling reality that just under half of the people who go to work each day earn less than R20 an hour or R3 500 a month is an indictment that should galvanise all South Africans into ending the phenomenon of “the working poor” in our economy and society.
In 2016, apartheid’s shadow of poverty, unemployment and inequality still casts a troubling pall over the salary advice slips of millions of South Africans. Income poverty undermines the dignity of workers and their ability to attain the better life of which we speak so often about and which our constitution implores us to realise.
Last Sunday, our nation witnessed the historic release of a report by the Advisory Panel on the National Minimum Wage, led by Professor Imraan Valodia, on a possible level at which the national minimum wage could be set.
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The panel has come up with specific recommendations on the level, adjustment period and institutional and legal arrangements for the national minimum wage.
The report is the culmination of 18 months of engagement by the social partners at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) and three months of expert review by the panel.
It follows the call made by President Jacob Zuma in his State of the Nation address in June 2014 for social partners to meet and deliberate on the untenable labour relations environment and wage inequality.
Lending integrity and legitimacy to the consultations, the Committee of Principals comprises representatives from government in the form of ministers who deal with these economic matters; representatives of business associations; the labour federations Cosatu, Nactu and Fedusa, as well as community formations who represent various community organisations in our country.
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Out of this intensive process that looked into global best practice and comparable socio-economic conditions and considered the cost benefit analysis of setting a national minimum wage at varying financial levels, came the proposal that is now on the table: R20 an hour or R3 500 a month, based on a given number of hours worked.
This number is not definitive, but its importance is that it serves as a point of departure towards an eventual agreement.
As the Committee of Principals we have agreed to give an opportunity to all social partners in Nedlac to discuss the report of the advisory panel with their constituent members.
Having discussed it, the constituent members will then take a decision on whether the recommendations are accepted, rejected or whether a portion of these are accepted and a portion rejected.
This is still an open process but the good thing is that recommendations have been put on the table by a panel of advisers which we have appointed and these recommendations will help focus our minds individually and collectively.
What this means is that we are a step closer to finalising our discussions on the national minimum wage.
Once the Nedlac process is complete, it will be the turn of South Africans at large to make their own submissions as this process passes through the legislative and administrative mill en route to becoming law.
All the social partners are united in their determination to finalise this process as soon as possible so that this policy intervention can start to make a material difference in the lives of the working poor.
We all understand new policies can be uncomfortable and require a process of adjustment.
But the challenges we face in finalising and implementing a national minimum wage can never be as difficult as the situation we now find ourselves in, with untenable levels of poverty, inequality and unemployment.
As part of aiding the transition, the panel has proposed that businesses be given a period of two years to adjust to the new level. Small businesses with fewer than 10 employees will be given one extra year to adjust.
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While there would be no penalties for non-compliance during this adjustment period, there will be extensive education, support and information campaigns.
Businesses and individuals will be able to apply for exemption should they not have the financial means to support this minimum wage.
The panel’s proposals - drawn from the in-depth deliberations of the Nedlac social partners - reflect the willingness among social partners to move South Africa forward by reducing income poverty and, through that, building a more cohesive, inclusive society; a nation in which more of us can hold our heads high, knowing that we are part of a caring, compassionate society that wants to make it possible for us to maximise our human potential.
It is in this context that we are committed to the prompt finalisation of the necessary political, legislative and administrative steps, and a comfortable transition to a new dispensation for workers.
The report by the advisory panel provides a platform for policy certainty on the national minimum wage.
Most importantly, this report provides for a decisive move towards a different kind of society and a different kind of economy.
We are marking a new way of dealing with our problems.
We are seeing a new social compact taking form.
Throughout this process, Nedlac has proved its value as the centre of social dialogue in our economy.
We now call on all South Africans to play their part in making the national minimum wage a reality by participating in the public consultation processes that are due to follow.
And we call on South Africans to do so constructively as we advance our struggle against poverty, unemployment and inequality.
The national minimum wage forms part of extending the social net for the most valuable people in our economy, and for large numbers of South Africans, their earnings are currently at a point where inequality remains entrenched.
This is a time for South Africans to make their voices heard but also to open their hearts and minds not just to the views of others but to the prospect of improved living standards in a society where a national minimum wage will edge us further away from inequality.
This is a time for South Africans not to shoot from the hip, but to shoot from their conscience and sense of social justice.
It is a time to take a step towards the dignity, security and comfort that continues to elude millions of our compatriots.
Let us all play our part.
* Ramaphosa is deputy president of South Africa.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
The Sunday Independent