Business Insider SA reports that from 1 March, a domestic worker who averages 8 hours of work a day for 20 days a month will have to be paid more than R4,000 for the first time, in terms of new national minimum wage rates published on Tuesday.

Employment and labour minister Thulas Nxesi decreed that the national minimum wage (NMW), which is the base number for a range of calculations, will be set at R25.42 per hour from that date. That is an increase of 9.6% from the R23.19 per hour of the past year and is well ahead of the annual consumer inflation rate of 6.9%. The R25.42 rate will be the minimum for nearly all employees, including domestic workers and farm workers, with the notable exception of people employed under the government's expanded public works system. They may be paid as little as R13.97 per hour, which remains at a level of just about 55% of the NMW. The minimum wage for domestic workers have seen big jumps in recent years, as the discount between the minimum allowable pay for first farm workers and then domestic workers was closed relative to the standard, national minimum wage. The minimum wage is considered to have a particularly acute impact on the number of domestic workers employed, especially in conditions where their employers are stretched. The minimum wage excludes allowances paid to allow workers to do their jobs, such as for transport, as well as food or other benefits provided on the job.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Phillip de Wet at Business Insider SA

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