Today's Labour News

The Citizen reports that the BankservAfrica Take-home Pay Index (BTPI) tracked lower in April 2024, with the nominal average pay falling below the R16,000 mark experienced over the past two months to R15,374 in April.

“The good news is that this figure is still 5.6% up on salary levels from a year ago,” BankservAfrica’s Shergeran Naidoo pointed out. The average real take-home pay, adjusted for inflation, also tracked lower at R13,566 in April although it was also marginally higher than a year ago. Economist Elize Kruger pointed out that a comparison of the average nominal BTPI for the four months to April with the corresponding period one year earlier revealed a 6.0% improvement, with 0.6% in real terms. “If sustained throughout the year, 2024 could turn out to be a better year for salaries, unlike 2023 when the average BTPI increased by only 1.2%,” she said. Kruger pointed out that with no load shedding over the past two months, the business environment had improved, enabling organisations to increase productivity and lower the cost of production. “An improved business environment will positively influence companies’ ability to pay inflation-related salary increases in 2024,” she argued. The BankservAfrica data also aligns with the SA Reserve Bank’s forecast of an average salary increase of 6.1% for 2024. With average consumer inflation likely to be around 5.1% in 2024, a forecast real increase of 1.0% in average wages could bode well for economic activity this year, Kruger said. According to the BankservAfrica BTPI data, about 132,000 more salaries were paid in April 2024 compared to the previous month. The BankservAfrica Private Pensions Index (BPPI), tracking the pension payments to about 700,000 pensioners, was also lower in both nominal and real terms in April 2024, but remained comfortably above levels a year ago.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ina Opperman at The Citizen

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