The ANC’s 2014 election manifesto endorses the principle of introducing a legislated national minimum wage. This concrete intervention is hugely important for millions of South Africans who, despite working long hours, still live in poverty. Unfortunately, some responses to this announcement suggest a startling level of ignorance and misinformation. Based on Statistics SA figures, we can estimate that over half of workers in the country earn less than R3 500 a month, way below what is required to support a family. This harsh reality of mass working poverty is the living legacy of a system deliberately designed to entrench the superexploitation of the African majority while entrenching...
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