Department of Labour public hearings to review minimum wages in the taxi and hospitality sectors enters the last leg in the Free State

The spotlight in the taxi and hospitality sectors’ minimum wage review will next week shift to the Free State when the Department of Labour (DoL) host a sequence of public hearings.

Two Taxi Sector public hearings will be held on April 2 at Lingawu Hotel, Bloemfontein at 11h00 and another on April 4 at Welkom Inn Hotel, cnr State Way, Tempest Road, Welkom at 13h00.

The Taxi Sector public hearings will be held alongside the Hospitality Sector minimum wage review, which will be preceded on April 2 by a site visit to a hospitality establishment. On April 3 the first Hospitality Sector public hearing will be held at 11h00 at Kopano Nokeng, 14 Maselspoort in Bloemfontein. This will be followed by another Hospitality Sector public hearing on April 4 at 14h00 at the Welkom’s Inn Hotel State Way, Tempest Road.

Department of Labour’s Acting Director of Employment Standards Titus Mtsweni said the public hearings process had unfolded smoothly and expects the consolidation of inputs from the public hearings to be finalised by the end of April.

He said a departmental report would be handed to the Employment Conditions Commission for deliberation and a new minimum wage review/ sectoral determination (SD) for the Taxi and Hospitality sectors would be expected to be announced no later than Mid-June. The current minimum wage mode for the Taxi and Hospitality Sector’s comes to an end in June and the new wage determination will start on 1 July.

In terms of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act the SD process is initiated when Labour Minister instructs the Director-General (DG) to investigate the state of the sector and working conditions. The DG in turn would mandate the ECC to investigate the possibility of a review. Once this has been undertaken a notice is published in Government Gazette inviting written representation from the public and other stakeholders.

The DoL takes the process in motion through a public hearing process and comments and this initiative culminate in the ECC process of promulgation. In the current SD that ends in June taxi drivers and admin workers should be earning a minimum monthly wage of R2 449, 90; while rank marshals should be earning R1 959, 40 and the other workers not elsewhere specified a minimum of R1 713, 70.

While those of the Hospitality Sector the minimum monthly wage rate for establishments with 10 or less is R2 240, 60; and those with more than 10 employees should earn R2 495,80 a month.

Meanwhile, in an unprecedented move Mtsweni has announced that the Limpopo Taxi Associations had requested the Department of Labour to conduct further public hearings for their members in the province.

The progressive move has been welcomed by the department, and goes against stance adopted by other associations in other provinces who promised to attend but failed to pitch up at public hearings.

Public hearings for both Taxi and Hospitality Sectors were held in the Limpopo province between 12 - 14 March.

The schedule for extra public hearings for Taxi Sector will be held as follows:

Enquiries:
Page Boikanyo
Departmental Spokesman
Cell: 082 809 3195