Domestic workers could see a pay rise with the National Minimum Wage Commission recommending an above-inflation increase to the national minimum wage (NMW) for 2023 to around R25.05 an hour.
With the consumer price index up about 7% over the past year, the increase will help minimum wage workers stay above water with drastic increases in fuel prices.
In its preliminary report, the NMW Commission is looking for an annual increase in the NMW in the range of consumer price index (CPI) +0.5 percent and CPI +1 percent for 2023.
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Last year, the Minister of Labor and Employment, Thulas Nxesi, announced that the national minimum wage would be adjusted from R21.69 per hour to R23.19 per hour.
Meanwhile, a report released by SweepSouth shows that in Gauteng, the average domestic helper takes home about R2814 per month, about 41% higher than other provinces.
SweepSouth reports that these numbers actually show that median incomes will increase significantly in 2022 due to increases in the minimum wage per job. The entity also experienced an increase in voluntary contributions from clients which helped increase revenue.
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If the commission’s recommendations are implemented, then the average domestic worker working full time, 22 days a month and 8 hours a day, should earn about R4 408, 80 a month.
But that figure is not the reality for the majority of domestic workers in the country, as well as other minimum wage workers in the agricultural and hospitality sectors.
Some employers of domestic workers – who are also under attack from all price increases – have said that they will not increase the salary given to domestic workers in the monthly budget, but will reduce the number of working hours. to stay within the payment budget.
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This will not fulfill the vision of NMW Chairman Professor Adriaan van der Walt to ensure that all wage earners earn enough to maintain a decent standard of living, defined as sufficient to support themselves and their families at a socially and economically acceptable level. .
“The target is to ensure that the value of the national minimum wage does not fall below the average wage.”