The Department of Labour catches a minority of wholesale and retail employers napping in Richards Bay ahead of sectoral determination public hearings taking place in the area tomorrow, Wednesday, 3 June.
A minority of the employers in the sector were found to pay their employees less than the stipulated minimum wages and use different job categories than that stipulated in the Wholesale & Retail sectoral determination.
This was discovered during the department’s site visits in Richards Bay CBD which falls under Area B in terms of wages.
Shaun Feldman, the Deputy Director, Employment standard, said “Over the years we have noticed that employers are not releasing their employees to attend these hearings, hence these visits to obtain inputs from workers.
“The visits are used to give employees the opportunity to give their inputs into the new amendments into the Wholesale and Retail sectoral determination that will be effective from February 2016”.
The following proposals were put forward by employees in the area:
Employees in the area want their salaries to be increased by ten per cent; that their employers accept medical certificates form clinics as doctors consultation fees are high; and that family responsibility be increased from three to five days a year.
The Wholesale and Retail public hearing taking place on Wednesday is to be followed by similar activities in Durban from Thursday until Friday this week.
Enquiries:
Mokgadi Pela
Cell: 082 808 2168
