LISTEN | Activists slam minimum wage as ‘entrenching apartheid’s cheap black labour’
Image: Esa Alexander
The national minimum hourly wage increase from R25.42 to R27.58 entrenches apartheid’s cheap black labour, says the Casual Workers' Advice Office (CWAO).
Listen to the organisation's views:
The 8.5% increase, 2.5% higher than the latest inflation rate, came into effect this month. It was announced last month by employment and labour minister Thulas Nxesi.
While Cosatu welcomed the hike, activists at the CWAO said that alone should “raise suspicions, given the federation’s consistently anti-worker politics”.
The advice office said while an increase would be welcome, the wage entrenches apartheid's cheap labour that benefits the capitalist class.
“The national minimum wage is not helping to lift affected workers out of poverty because few workers are receiving it. Worse, bosses are using the low minimum as an incentive to lower the wages of workers who have been earning well above it. The national minimum wage was never intended to challenge the system of cheap black labour. It was meant to entrench it,” it said.
TimesLIVE