Youth wage subsidy
The Employment Tax Incentive Bill officially came into effect at the start of the year.
It is commonly known as the Youth Wage Subsidy Bill. While some welcomed it with open arms. The bill has been marred with opposition, skepticism and criticism.
One of the bill’s core aims is to increase youth employment and give young people skills, making them more employable in future.
The South African treasury said the wage subsidy decreases the amount of tax that is paid by the employer to SARS under the pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) system.
People who qualify are those between the ages of 19 to 29. Their wages will be a minimum of R2 000 and a maximum of R6 000.
Group executive of corporate relations at Impala Platinum Johan Theron responded to questions asked by the paper: “Clearly we acknowledge that, as a country, we are faced with an enormous challenge considering unemployment levels amongst the youth in our country.”
Johan admits that they have taken notice of the initiatives proposed by Government, not only the youth wage subsidy, and are supportive of these initiatives. “Unfortunately, the jobs at our refinery in Springs are all remunerated well above the pay threshold currently proposed by Government and as such, the youth wage subsidy would not be a game changer for us,” he continues. He also adds that the company is looking at ways to potentially influence and/or leverage this scheme to enable it to assist more first-time job seekers.
Element Six Diamond Company says it has just gone through retrenchments. Human resources manager Gerhard Grove said, “We are not in an employment mode and we will look into the subsidy when deciding to hire.”
Speaking for an organisation which works with young people, Thlabane Tsagane from the Make It Count youth development is a little hesitant in supporting the bill. “Will they make it compulsory for companies to employ young people? Are companies willing to take unskilled people? Even with leanerships we face challenges, no-one monitors the implementation process.” The centre manager hopes companies will work with organisations such as theirs as they work with the very youth they will be looking to employ.
