Business Report writes that Wits researcher Gilad Isaacs maintains that, while a national minimum wage will not lead to massive economic growth in SA, it will dent the country’s soaring poverty rates.  

“This is not a silver bullet.  This is not going to solve South Africa’s economic woes.  But it will have a positive impact on poverty and inequality,” said Isaacs, who is the co-ordinator for the National Minimum Wage Research Initiative at the university.  Yet, Isaacs notes that, while a minimum wage would close the gap between lower- and mid-income earners, this would not be the case between wealthy and poor workers, as the super-rich earn money in other ways besides salaries.  So, if SA was serious about closing its inequality gap between the rich and the poor, which is the highest in the world, the country should start a conversation around macro wages, which is the most that someone could earn.  A Nedlac team of experts is currently deciding how much the national minimum wage should be pegged at.

• Read this report by Amy Musgrave in full at Business Report

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