JOHANNESBURG - South African President
Cyril Ramaphosa will on Thursday meet officials from the labour
ministry to discuss the planned introduction of a national
minimum wage, a day after nationwide protests over the policy
which he has championed.
Several thousand union members marched in Johannesburg, Cape
Town, Durban and other cities on Wednesday to voice their
opposition to the 20 rand ($1.6) an hour minimum wage, which
they have called "starvation wages".
Ramaphosa sees the minimum pay, which was meant to be
introduced on May 1 but has been delayed, as an important first
step to tackle labour instability and wage inequality.
He has staked his reputation on revamping a stuttering
economy and rooting out corruption associated with Jacob Zuma,
whom he replaced as president in February.
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Ramaphosa's spokeswoman, Khusela Diko, said his meeting with
the labour ministry on Thursday was not a response to
Wednesday's protests but was part of regular updates he had been
receiving on the minimum wage.
Protesters on Wednesday called for the proposed hourly wage
to be scrapped and replaced with a "living wage" of 12,500 rand
($1,000) a month. That wage would be more than three times
higher than the 20 rand an hour minimum wage in monthly terms.
"The president recognises that the national minimum wage is
not a living wage, but we need to start somewhere," Ramaphosa's
spokeswoman Diko said.
Labour ministry spokesman Teboho Thejane said the ministry
had received a memorandum from protesters on Wednesday and that
officials hoped to finalise amendments to minimum wage
legislation with lawmakers by August.
Thejane did not give an estimate for the new implementation
date of the minimum wage, which was approved by the cabinet
under former president Zuma in November after lengthy
discussions with unions and employers.