Government's EPWP wage exposes double standards for minimum wage

Image: courtesy of IOL

Government simply refuses to accept that the national minimum wage, in place since 2019, is counterproductive and does more harm than good.

The Minister of Employment and Labour, Nomakhosazana Meth, today announced the new minimum wage, increasing it by R1,44 per hour from R28,79 to R30,23.

Government's over-regulation, amid economic stagnation and record-high unemployment levels, will keep leading to job losses.

In fact, one of the major reasons for the struggling economy is the country’s draconian labour legislation, which destroys jobs rather than creating them. It basically boils down to sabotage of the labour force.

The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) is certainly not saying workers should be exploited and forced to work for a starvation wage, but rather that the market and circumstances should determine wages.

South Africans are generous and will, where possible, pay more than the prescribed wage of their own accord. However, there are also situations – for instance, pensioners – where they simply cannot afford the prescribed wage for a domestic worker, for example.

In such cases, the worker will most likely lose their job if they are not willing to work fewer hours.

Groups such as farmworkers, domestic workers and gardeners – who no longer fall under sectoral determinations and have been aligned with the national minimum wage – are particularly vulnerable.

In stark contrast, the prescribed wage for workers in government’s Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) is almost half of what is imposed on the private sector.

It now stands at R16,62 per hour, up from R15,16 per hour – this underscores the unfairness of the system.

The Freedom Front Plus believes that a private employer will pay a fair wage if it is within their means. Nevertheless, the employer and employee should have the power to negotiate this. 

Many unemployed people would rather choose to work for a few rand less per hour than being unable to provide for their families.

Government should adjust its policies and labour legislation to facilitate job creation instead of increasingly forcing the private labour market to pay more for people who are unemployed due to government's incompetence.