Sectoral determination for hospitality industry welcomed

By Tarryn Le Chat
15 May 2007

Trade union federation Cosatu has welcomed the announcement of a sectoral determination for the hospitality industry that will be imposed on minimum wages and conditions for 568 300 workers in 40 430 companies.

These sectors are hotels, lodges, gyms, bed-and-breakfasts, restaurants and pubs.

Enterprises with 10 employees or less will only have to pay their workers R1 480 per month or R7,59 an hour and those with 10 employees or more will fork out R1 650 a month or R8,46 an hour.

For employees in the various sectors this will come as a huge improvement on their current wages, however, they still fall short of an acceptable minimum wage for any worker.

The Department of Labour has said that workers will be working 45 hours a week and will be entitled to overtime, payable at time and a half. They will also receive premium payment payable for Sundays and public holidays.

Many businesses believe, however, that due to this determination, companies will be forced to close down. Cosatu says in a statement that this is not the case as it is a highly profitable and growing industry, having to pay this level of wages cannot be an acceptable excuse for closures or retrenchments.

The terms of the determination will come into effect on the 1 July 2007.