The Department of Labour (DoL) is to host joint three-day Wholesale & Retail hearings and, Taxi Sector information sharing sessions respectively starting on Sunday (October 14) – in the Eastern Cape.
The Department of Labour information sharing sessions with the taxi sector, and the wholesale & retail sector hearings will kick-off at 10h00 and 13h00. The hearings will start on Sunday until Tuesday.
The October 14 information sharing session and hearings will be held at the Department of Labour’s Port Elizabeth offices at the 3rd floor of VSN Building 116-136 Govan Mbeki Avenue. They will start on Sunday at 10h00 with a taxi sector session followed by wholesale & retail sector hearing and 13h00.
On Monday at the same times the briefings will start with wholesale & retail sector hearing rounding the day with taxi industry session.
These will be followed on October 16 by similar hearings at the East London Offices at DoL’s office at 4th Floor at Corner Oxford & Hillside Street starting with taxi sector session and concluding with wholesale & retail sector hearings.
DoL’s Employment Standards (ES): acting director Titus Mtsweni said the common feature about the two gatherings (Wholesale & Retail hearings and taxi sector information sharing sessions) was that these would be used to deal with the matter of revision of prescribed minimum wage (sectoral wage determination).
The Wholesale and Retail Sector public hearings will focus on sectoral determination which prescribes minimum wages for a three year period ending this year.
The sectoral determination entails aspects that deal with the protection of workers in vulnerable sectors/areas of work. The determination sets minimum working hours, minimum wages, number of leave days and termination rules.
“The Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) requires the Minister of Labour to consult with affected and interested parties prior to determining new levels of the minimum wages. In line with the requirements of the law,” Mtsweni said.
These industry engagements are expected to help the Employments Conditions Commission (ECC), a statutory body that advises Labour Minister on sectoral determinations and related matters to gather relevant information to consider when reviewing the minimum wages.
Inputs and submissions obtained during the public hearings will be used when considering the new minimum wage level - in regard to - the ability of the employer to conduct business successfully, the impact which the proposed wages will have on poverty alleviation, the impact which the proposed wage will have on the creation and the retention of jobs, and the impact which the proposed wage will have on the cost of living.
Mtsweni said the Taxi Sector information sharing sessions were a follow-up engagement following a department conducted research into the Taxi sector as a result of concerns raised by the industry which hamper compliance with the determination.
The industry amongst other issues concerns in regard the impact that the Bus Rapid Transport has on the operation of the industry, the impact of the Taxi Recapitalisation programme on the operation of the industry, concerns regarding lack of subsidy from Government on the industry, and the effect of the current demarcation model applied in the sectoral determination.
Mtsweni said the reason for holding some of the hearings/information sessions on Sundays was to accommodate the workers who might not be able to attend during weekdays. While those held during the week were targeting all role players including trade unions, employers, employer organisations and employees for both sectors.
The wholesale retail hearings and taxi sector information sharing sessions started in September. The hearings have been held in the Free State, Gauteng, North West, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and Limpopo.
More hearings and information sharing session are to be held in Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.
For more information about the hearings and information sharing sessions contact
Mtsweni:
Tel: 012 309 4907
Cell: 083 521 0917
Department's Wholesale & Retail Sector hearings and Taxi Sector information sharing sessions to resume in Eastern Cape
