GroundUp reports that a majority (nine) of the 12 members of the National Minimum Wage Commission has recommended that the national minimum wage be lifted from R20.76 an hour to R21.68 an hour.
This would be an increase of 4.5%, namely 1.5 percentage points above the inflation rate of 3% a year in September. The commissioners noted that because of the impact of food prices, consumer inflation was higher for low-income households and that the effective rate of inflation for low-income households was 3.3% a year. They also noted that the current minimum wage was below the lower poverty line of R3,360 a month for a household of four people. The minority opinion, on the part of three commissioners representing business, did not recommend an increase above the inflation rate. They wrote that, “any increase, in our opinion, will have an effect on job retention and creation.” The minimum wage of domestic workers is presently 75% of the national minimum wage, while the minimum wage of farm workers is presently 90% of the national minimum wage. The majority of commissioners argued that the wage for farm workers should be brought to parity with the national wage in the 2021 adjustment (an effective increase of R350 per month). They said wages of domestic workers should be increased to 88% of the national minimum by 2021 (approximately R19 per hour), and to parity by 2022. The minority opinion did not support the proposals on domestic and farm workers either, arguing that “no sector can absorb such increases.”
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by James Stent at GroundUp
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