Minimum wage kills prospects, increases joblessness and insults the poor, writes Mpiyakhe Dhlamini
The national minimum wage is a crime against the poor of this country as it forbids them from accepting any compensation below the floor set by the government. It is reasonable, therefore, to assume that some people who could be working are not employed because of the minimum wage.
It is amazing that anyone could think it a good thing to raise the cost of labour through legislation when we have an official unemployment rate of 27.6%, or 38% if you include those who have given up looking for work. If you are desperate to sell anything , the last thing you would do is raise its price.
It is perhaps a reflection of officialdom’s supreme neglect of poor people that they are given a terrible education to depress their value as employees, and then when they are ready to work, the cost of their labour is raised to above that value. In essence, the government legislates for unemployment. It is not just the minimum wage, but every single piece of labour regulation that makes it more costly to hire a worker.
Low-paid jobs might well increase relative to high-paid jobs, but that was in spite of the government and not because of any action on the part of officials to stop artificially raising the cost of labour. Lest we forget, the Labour Relations Act, passed in 1995, forces centralised collective bargaining upon employers and employees, and in 1999 sectoral minimum wages were introduced.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
National minimum wage can’t be blamed for joblessnessReckless allegation is based on bending facts and the assumption that labour is a commodity like any other; it isn’t
Read more »
Prospects of Adam Catzavelos' prosecution for k-word slur video are slim - expertThe prospects that businessman Adam Catzavelos can be prosecuted for a racial slur, which he made in a viral video taken in Greece, are slim, according to a legal expert.
Read more »
From Mondli Makhanya on human Gods to Zille’s insults to blacks: Read it all in VoicesIn City_Press Voices today: By giving Cyril Ramaphosa messianic status, we risk repeating the same mistakes, writes Mondli Makhanya; “What an unadulterated insult to black people ...” – Modidima Mannya takes on Helen Zille
Read more »
'He is insulting us' - Jub Jub's claim that Xhosa people are 'promiscuous' has social media abuzzJub Jub Maarohanye has made a dramatic re-entrance to public life after his jail stint with his reality show Uyajola - and he has added to it by announcing that he has never seen a more promiscuous nation than the Xhosa people.
Read more »
EFF: Cabinet an insult to the intelligence of South AfricansThe EFF has described the new national executive announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa as an 'insult to the intelligence of South Africans'.
Read more »
WATCH: Four-star progress but poor child protection in latest #SaferCarsforAfrica resultsThe chairperson of AA South Africa says that while achieving the minimum safety standard is appreciated, it's not good enough.
Read more »
CAPE TOWN BUDGET: Cape Town’s ‘pro-poor’ budget is pro-rich, say opposition partiesOpposition parties in the City of Cape Town, primarily led by the ANC, opposed the passing of a budget the ruling Democratic Alliance has labelled as ‘pro-poor’. Amid calls for order and shouts of ‘shut up’, the 2019/20 budget was passed, granting each ward in the metro an increased R1-million budget.
Read more »
Mahlambi kicked out of Bafana camp after allegedly arriving ‘in poor condition’Phakamani Mahlambi’s slim hopes of playing at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) appear over after he was sent home from the South Africa camp preparing ahead of the Cosafa Cup.
Read more »
Mahlambi kicked out of Bafana camp after allegedly arriving ‘in poor condition’Phakamani Mahlambi’s slim hopes of playing at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) appear over after he was sent home from the South Africa camp preparing ahead of the Cosafa Cup.
Read more »
'The Lion's Share': how Disney made millions from a poor Zulu artist's songIt was estimated that US and SA record companies and Disney had made about $16m off a song that had come from Linda's recording, while the composer died penniless in 1962 - his family so poor they couldn't afford money for a proper tombstone.
Read more »
Poor African countries are a natural disaster away from a crisis“With the exception of South Africa, African countries have done relatively little to contribute to climate crisis yet are being severely affected and have little to no resources to cope with the aftermath”
Read more »