While the Department of Employment and Labour has been applauded for recovering R84 million through workplace inspections, associations for vulnerable workers have questioned which employees benefited from the reclaimed money.
The money was recovered by the department’s Inspections and Enforcement Services, as a result of non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage (NMW).
Effectively, the money went to the pockets of workers who were underpaid. The findings were contained in inspector general Aggy Moiloa’s analysis report for the 2022/23 financial year, and was released this week to coincide with South Africa’s latest official unemployment rate announcement, which showed unemployment decreased to 32.6 percent, with 154 000 more people finding work in the second quarter of this year.
The department's spokesperson, Teboho Thejane, said the purpose of the report was to provide an annual analysis for the financial year with regards to the implementation of the NMW in South Africa.
“Moiloa said the employers across the country of South Africa, were tested for compliance by the department on the following legislations: BCEA, NMWA, COIDA, UICA, EE, and OHSA,” said Thejane.
The department also reported that it had already taken action against employers who failed to comply with notices that had expired, and more than 1 800 employers were referred for prosecution.
Moiloa said advocacy was currently being undertaken with information sessions, provincial workshops and national seminars on the matter.
Cosatu’s acting national spokesperson, Matthew Parks, welcomed the progress made by the department’s inspectors.
Parks said workers were already paid meagre wages and most were highly indebted.
“This is money that was pickpocketed by immoral employers from their employees, many of whom are paid at the NMW. This money will provide welcome relief to these vulnerable workers. Research commissioned by the NMW Commission has found that 45% of employers eligible to pay the NMW have failed to do so.
“This points to an urgent need for the department to drastically increase the number of inspections it conducts.
The federation will continue to work closely to expose and tackle non-compliant employers,” he said.
Women on Farms Project (WFP) director Colette Solomon said their labour rights co-ordinator in the Western Cape was not aware of the money.
“It’s all good and well to hear that the department recovered such huge money. However, it would have been appreciated if the department stated from which sector these vulnerable workers who were underpaid are from and when they received this recovered money.
“The term of non-compliance is soft and unsatisfactory because it's a violation of labour laws and workers rights. It’s about employers flouting laws and in the agriculture sector it happens because farmers mostly get slaps on the wrist when it comes to consequences or punitive measures,” said Solomon.
United Domestic Workers of South Africa (UDWOSA) president Pinky Mashiane said they were also not aware of the payments or information sessions, provincial workshops and national seminars.
“I don’t know if underpaid domestic workers benefited from that R84 million because as we speak, there are hundreds of thousands of domestic workers who are still underpaid, many getting salaries which are not any near national minimum wage. We had one information session by the department here in Pretoria in Atteridgeville last year for less than 100 domestic workers.
“There are more than 800 000 domestic workers in South Africa.
Where are they conducting these sessions, workshops and seminars because we don’t hear about them?
“We have invited the Department of Employment and Labour in Mpumalanga, Witbank, three times to address domestic workers' issues there, they never responded and attended even once,” she said.
According to Mashiane, many domestic worker employers were relaxed because they knew no one would do inspection at their homes.
“The department must reach out to employers and domestic workers on a serious note for us to be included in their ‘victories’ on National Minimum Wage and in all other Acts,” said Mashiane.
Cape Times