The Portfolio Committee on Labour has said it was satisfied with the progress made in processing the national minimum wage Bill and related legislations.

The Acting Chairperson, Ms Sharome van Schalkwyk, said the process has now shifted to the department and that the Bill will be sent for redrafting to effect the input received from the public, as agreed to by the committee.

“The Department of Labour must take its time and rework the Bill for submission again to the committee. This piece of legislation is critical in our country, not only in fighting inequality, but also addressing abuse of the vulnerable workers in some sectors,” Ms Van Schalkwyk said.

The committee has been working on the Bill for almost all of the first term and also held public hearings. All of the past week, the committee deliberated on the Bill clause by clause and made changes, taking into consideration input received during the public hearings.

“This is a piece of legislation that will change the course of vulnerable workers in our country for a long time, and it ought to be close to perfection when it is tabled before the National Assembly,” Ms Van Schalkwyk said.

She said the committee had demonstrated commitment when dealing with this of piece of legislation and that members had shown maturity in expressing their positions on the matter. “This is only to the good and is solely intended to protect the most exploited workers in our country,” she said.

She pointed out that at no point will the legislation take away the right to strike, as is often claimed, and also that the R20 amount is a starting figure that will be reviewed annually.