Presentation to Portfolio Comm – Labour : National Minimum Wage

12 Sep 2014

PPF team

1. Mr. Kashif Wicomb : PPF Deputy President

2. Prof Waheeda Amien : PPF WC Provincial Chairperson

3. Adv. Paul Ngobeni : PPF WC Executive member

4. Ms. Tiara Pathon : PPF WC member

Objectives of the PPF1. Encourage, foster and nurture progressive thinking.2. Provide a platform to stimulate intellectual debate on the progressive agenda.3. Leverage and harness the capacity of professionals to engender an inclusive

economic growth and combat the triple challenge of : Poverty, Inequality & Unemployment.

4. Mobilise all professionals to play , a meaningful and strategic role in South Africa ; the distribution of economic ownership and control that is representative of the population & support the African Diaspora strategy.

5. Seek mechanisms to ensure that the public discourse in the country is balanced and promote the patriotism of its citizens.

6. The PPF is an organization which calls together professionals who are ready and willing to contribute towards the growth of our society and our country . The PPF is a volunteer corpse in the spirit of the 1960’s and the Defiance Campaign.

7. We will do this by availing our skills and expertise and engaging at a strategic level with government and the private sector.

Character of the PPF

The PPF is a South African based organisation and has a national, continental and international focus

Our organisation is non-racial, non-sexist, non-xenophobic and non-afrophobic

We seek to attract professionals, academia, intelligentsia and entrepreneurs who align themselves with progressive movements and who aspire to progressive ideals such as those enshrined in the Freedom Charter and the Preamble of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.

South Africa Today: The Facts

Extreme inequality still exists today post 1994

Failure to transform apartheid labour structure, particularly cheap labour and income distribution

Phenomenal growth for the black middle class

Unemployment continues to raise

Transformation in Education not addressing real needs

Most unequal economy with 10% owning more than 68% of total income

Status Quo cannot continue

PPF Position on the National

Minimum Wage The PPF is supportive of the introduction of a national minimum

wage

The aim must be to ensure that vulnerable workers are guaranteed a minimum income

Apply to the minority of workers not removing major success within sectorial collective bargaining already achieved

Will lift the working poor from extreme poverty and facilitate the redistribution of wealth in an unequal society

Positive step towards achieving a decent working class environment

PPF Position on the National

Minimum Wage Should not be a quick fix or done in isolation of other laws governing

poverty alleviation

Further research must be completed in order to understand the complexities which could exist around employment conditional benefits, payroll tax and the like

The PPF are cognisant of the claims of some critics that job loss or severe damage to the economy may occur, however US economists including 5 Nobel Prize Winners state the there will be improvement in the lives of the low income workers and a positive spin off for their families.

BPO Sector as an example Only sector to have grown by 37% during the recession and growing year on year

Demand for 15 000 jobs over the next 3 years

South Africa unique customer services ethos and english language capabilities compared to India and the Philippines

Investors drawn to South Africa for a multitude of reasons however no sectorial determination exists

Annualised attrition currently at 52%

National Minimum Wage will formalise sector and reduce labour disputes thereby creating a professional image, which is long overdue

Focus should be on marketing BPO (Call Centre) as a career for unemployed matriculants

PPF Position on the National

Minimum Wage The PPF call for a more realistic basket to measure GDP in order not

to disadvantage the poor

The PPF call for more productivity t ensure the revenue line is more sustainable to fund a decent wage

We also call upon our economists to compute and publish the multiplier effect

The PPF has full confidence in the capabilities of our social partners to reach a realistic National Minimum wage that will take all the above into account

Special Considerations where exemptions can be considered The informal sector

Small Business – less than 50 employees

Current Industries where Sectorial Determinations already exist

“The call now is for each of us to ask ourselves;

Are we doing all we can to help build the country of our dreams? ” –

Nelson Mandela

An idea long overdue