Clothing units trying to arrive at consensus on wage

29 Oct '10

2 min read

The new wage structure has been implemented in the clothing factories under the Newcastle Chinese Chamber of Commerce, which makes sure that none of the employees working in the clothing factories should earn less than R200 per week.

According to the chairman of the chamber, despite the fact that wages for most of the categories of employees are still lower than the approved minimum wage of R324 per week, the employers were trying to make clear that they have to accept a wage structure that is sustainable.

A meeting is supposed to be held in November with the Minister of Economic Development, Ebrahim Patel in order to arrive at a consensus over the issue as no agreement has yet been entered into on what the clothing factories have recommended.

In September, the chamber had recommended that a general employee should be paid R220 per week in rural areas whereas in cities it should be R300 per week.

An unqualified machinist from a rural area must earn R250 every week whereas the one from the city should get R350. A qualified machinist from a rural area must earn R280 every week whereas his city-based counterpart should earn R450 per week. Beginners and unskilled employees should get R200 per week during the first six month's period.

Fibre2fashion News Desk-India