| Sectoral
Determination for Workers in the W&R Sector |
|
Media
statement by...
THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR
Wholesale
and retail workers now entitled to a minimum wage
4 February 2003
Submission date for success stories are end
of June 2003
Stories must be submitted to Mike Mokgomo:
Communications Officer. |
|
| The Sectoral Determination for the Wholesale and Retail
Sector came into effect on Saturday, 1 February 2003 -
setting minimum wages and working conditions for workers
in this sector. |
|
| The Determination, which replaces
the old Wage Determination for the Commercial
Distributive Trade, Certain Areas, will incorporate
workers from the former homelands for the first time. |
|
| The protection of vulnerable
workers remains one of the core directives for the
Department of Labour and this Sectoral Determination is
a manifestation of that commitment. |
|
| The casualisation of labour is a
key challenge facing the South African labour market,
this determination also recognises the plight of
‘flexible’ or part-time workers and caters for their
specific needs. |
|
| Casual workers in the wholesale and
retail sectors are particularly vulnerable and have
little job security. All workers are now entitled to a
minimum wage irrespective of the number of hours he or
she works and all are entitled to benefits such as leave
or notice pay. |
|
| However, some casual workers such
as young people without family responsibility are less
concerned about benefits. The determination, therefore
allows the worker who works 27 hours or less per week to
choose between having benefits or no benefit but a
higher wage. Workers who opt for premium payments
instead of benefits will earn 25% more than those
workers who prefer benefits. |
|
| The determination - like its
counterparts for domestic workers and the agricultural
sector - is designed not only to protect workers, but it
also recognises the constraints and challenges facing
employers. |
|
| The determination offers
flexibility, with different wage levels being set
according to rural, urban and intermediate areas, and
the phasing in of minimum wage levels to areas
previously excluded from the determination. |
|
| In the former Transkei,
Bophututswana, Venda and Ciskei (TBVC) areas concessions
have been made to allow for the phasing in of the
minimum wage. Initially employers in these regions will
pay 30% less than other areas, with annual increases
aimed at reaching the same levels as the wages for other
areas by 1 February, 2005. |
|
| The wage levels are presented in a
comprehensive manner and are set at hourly, weekly or
monthly levels. The Determination also prescribes
minimum wages for different categories of worker ranging
from shop managers to assistants. The highest wage
prescribed is R14.87 per hour (or R669.57 per week or
R2901.51 per month) for shop managers in urban areas
down to R3.12 per hour (or R140.51 per week or R426.22
per month) for security guards in rural areas in the
former TBVC region. |
|
| Other prescribed minimum wages for
2003 in urban areas include R4.03 per hour for a cashier
(or R182.00 per week or R788.69 per month), R4.84 per
hour for a sales person (or R218.27 per week or R945.88
per month), R3.08 per hour for a general assistant (or
R138.73 per week or R601.20 per month), while an
assistant manager must receive at least R6.95 per hour
(or R313.13 per week or R1 356.96 per month). Wage
levels will differ for intermediate and rural areas and
for these positions’ counterparts in the former TBVC
areas. |
|
| Wages are set for a three-year
period, with a 8,8% increases per annum for the second
and third years. In the TBVC areas the wages will also
be further adjusted on an annual basis to bring them in
line with the rest of South Africa by the 2005 date. |
|
| The determination also allows for
commission-only based payment for salespersons as long
as payment is at least equal to two-thirds of the
applicable minimum wage. |
|
| All the provisions related to
conditions of employment have been brought in line with
the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997. Provisions
around averaging and compressed working weeks would
greatly assist employers who work according to shift
systems, whilst the night work provisions recognises
workers’ quest for health and safety. |
|
| The Determination also allows
workers a 40-hour work week, on condition that they work
at least three Sundays in a month, taking other days of
the week off to rest. |
|
| In preparing this Sectoral
Determination the Department of Labour undertook a
rigorous investigation into the wholesale and retail
sector that took just over two years to complete. |
