Let me start by saying: I am opinionated. Sometimes a little too opinionated, so I like to show careful consideration when sharing opinions on potentially contentious issues. That said, I cannot hold my tongue anymore on an issue I have become very familiar with lately: minimum wage and industrial relations in South Africa.
Second, let me make it clear that there are companies out there that vigilantly uphold workers rights and pay, which is why it is so maddening to see other big establishments exploiting the unemployment situation here.
It is common knowledge that many restaurants, including some big chains like, pay their staff on commission, or sometimes not at all, forcing them to live off tips. In the restaurants that pay commission, the rate is usually 2.5% of the waiters sales. That means that if the average spend per customer is R250 (which is a generous estimate), and a waiter serves 30 customers in one night (again, a generous estimate) the waiter can make R187.50 per day, which is not particularly bad, but how can the waiter ensure they get a capacity restaurant filled with big spending customers? And the illustrated situation would be in a rather expensive venue, a more middle class venue (where these issues are rampant) would be looking at less than half of that. The reality is that whilst these days might happen occasionally, due to a tendency for these places to over-staff (because they aren't paying them) most waiters in this situation walk away with R25 to R50 per 10 hour shift, barely enough to cover transport. This practice is illegal, and the fact that some of the biggest restaurant chains in South Africa can still do this without fear of punishment shows there is a LONG way to go.
Another common situation in some of these establishments is hiring only a few paid staff and supervisors and then proceed to hire waiters on "training" for an indefinite period of time, paying them NOTHING until they eventually quit and move on.
The minimum wage for waiters in South Africa is R10.50 per hour. This is still well below what would be considered a "living wage" and was only introduced in 2007.
It can be argued that "commission work" as it is referred to by the government is legal, however the act clearly states that "An employer shall pay an employee the rates applicable for commission work as agreed: Provided that irrespective of the commission earned, the employer shall pay such an employee not less than the prescribed minimum wage for the period worked" 1
Moving away from the hospitality industry, the Cape Times yesterday reported that parking marshals in Cape Town were forced to pay "rent" for their parking spaces to their employer, SPS, who is contacted by the City of Cape Town to control parking in the city. The system works like this: SPS places a value on an area based on how many spaces are there and how popular they are, this can range from R100-800 PER DAY. The Parking Marshal must then raise more than the specified rent for that day, and extra they keep as their wage, if its less then they must pay the difference out of their own pocket. Parking Marshals can expect to take home R25 to R50 per day, again well below a living wage.2 You can find the article here.
You might be asking "why does someone not challenge these employers" and its a good question. In the case of the Parking Marshals, the article sights two separate labour lawyers:
- Labour lawyer Michael Bagraim says the system is illegal under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. "This is very bad - the whole thing should be outlawed. It's an industrial relations nightmare," he said.
- Another labour lawyer said it was the marshals' choice to accept the job.
When asked about the situation city spokesperson Kylie Hatton had said the council would be interfering in an employer-employee relationship if it got involved.
The laws must be tested and enforced, but until they are unscrupulous employers will continue to exploit South Africa's local and refugee employment base.
I am in the fortunate position of no longer having to work minimum wage jobs, however when I did (in Australia) I had the protection of the government, something I never really appreciated until now. However, if i was one of those affected by the horrific treatment described above I would be asking my government representatives the following questions:
- When do you plan on enforcing the Basic Conditions of Employment Act?
- Why does the government (at all levels) not conduct audits to ensure its contractors abide by the law?
- Why is the minimum wage still at a level which prevents economic upliftment of "the people"?
- Why has the government not used its almost dictatorial majority in the parliament over the last 15 years to make the unpopular decisions that would actually effect change?
As a new resident of Cape Town I am still getting my head around these issues, and I would love anyone (government or otherwise) to answer those 4 questions for me.
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