Again HR City has elected to voice our concern over proposed amendments to labour legislation, including the implementation of the proposed Minimum Wage Bill (Read our Article Here).

Similarly to our actions in 2012 when HR City sought to intervene in what it viewed as dangerous and unfair changes to labour legislation (Read our Article Here) government has again sought to further restrict the rights of employers, even during an economic downturn which, in no small part is due to excessive over-regulation of the labour market. 

HR City has presented it’s concerns to the department of labour, available for Download.

While the majority of the changes in the current proposed draft bills seek to enact the implementation of the Minimum Wage Bill, serious concerns are raised various other changes to labour legislation which are not only dangerous, but again severely impact on employer’s.

Among these amendments, there seems to be a decision to completely withdraw support for sectoral determinations. These determinations were enacted to ensure that specific sectors within the labour market enjoy exemptions from applicable legislation as well as enforce protections for so-called “vulnerable” workers. The deletion of these determinations from the law will mean that these exemptions and protections will no longer be applicable, again increasing the overall cost to conduct business in South Africa.

For the full proposed draft legislation, see the following links:

National Minimum Wage Bill

Basic Conditions of Employment Amendment Bill

Labour Relations Amendment Bill