Labour department launches campaign to assist underpaid employees

EMPLOYERS who have thus far ignored the payment of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) need to beware, said the Department of Employment and Labour which will soon launch a campaign to curb underpayment.

Through the campaign, employees who ought to be receiving NMW will be able to report non-receipt of the wage anonymously.

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The campaign will involve users being asked asked to dial a toll-free number to report whether or not they are receiving the NMW.

The Department of Employment and Labour’s Chief Director of Labour Relations, Thembinkosi Mkhaliphi, said, in a statement, the campaign will be launched by Minister Thulas Nxesi on 6 March.

“The communication will ask if you are being paid a minimum wage and if not, a user will reply accordingly,” he said, adding that a person can remain anonymous with the only requirement being one’s company or employer’s address.

After the matter is reported, the department will dispatch an inspector to the complainant’s place of work to resolve the matter within seven days.

“It will be free for the user and we think that will be a game changer,” said Mkhaliphi.

He said more needs to be done to educate society on the minimum wage.

The campaign he said, will grant the department a window into whether eligible workers have access to the NMW which came into operation on 1 January 2019.

“We will then know whether workers are getting the wage or not – and in which sectors and areas,” he said.

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