Reply To: SHOULD RETRENCHMENT SERVICE PAY BE DOUBLED?

[Ingrid Lewin]

I agree that the amount of severance pay due to retrenched employees should be increased. However, I also agree that it might impose an insurmountable burden on some employers who are unable to afford it. I would suggest that the suggested amendment allow for a process whereby employers, who cannot afford the two weeks, can apply for an exemption in the same way that employers who are not members of bargaining councils can apply for an exemption from wage increases where the bargaining council agreement, making provision for an increase, applies to them.