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Labor Minister Thulas Nxesi has published the new minimum wage for South Africa.
In a bulletin published on Monday night (February 8), the minister said that the national minimum wage is now 21.69 R for each ordinary hour. This change will take effect on March 1, 2021.
The bulletin also offers exceptions for various groups of workers.
- Agricultural workers are entitled to a minimum wage of rand 21.69 per hour;
- Domestic workers are entitled to a minimum wage of R19.09 per hour;
- Workers employed in an expanded public works program are entitled to a minimum wage of R11.93 per hour.
The National Minimum Wage Act was first proclaimed in 2018, setting a historic precedent in protecting low-income (vulnerable) workers in South Africa and providing a platform to reduce inequality and huge income disparities in the labor market. national.
The national minimum wage was first implemented on January 1, 2019 at a level of 20 rand per hour. On March 1, 2020, the base rate of the minimum wage was adjusted to R20.76 per hour.
According to the law, it is an unfair labor practice for an employer to unilaterally alter working hours or other conditions of employment by implementing the national minimum wage.
The national minimum wage is the amount to be paid for ordinary hours of work and does not include the payment of subsistence (such as transportation, tools, food or accommodation), payments in kind (food or accommodation), tips, bonuses and gifts.
Equality
In November 2020, the national minimum wage commission said that, ideally, a national minimum wage should apply to all employees nationwide and regardless of sector.
However, to avoid excessive disruption, the Minimum Wage Law established lower minimums for agricultural and domestic workers, with a process of gradual equalization of the national minimum wage over time.
Article 6 of the law orders the Commission to make recommendations to the Minister of Employment and Labor on this matter.
In 2018, agricultural workers were entitled to a minimum wage of R18 per hour and domestic workers to a minimum wage of R15 per hour. The minimum wages of agricultural and domestic workers increased in March 2020 to R18.68 and R15.57 respectively.
The commission’s recommendation is that minimum wages for agricultural workers be equal to the national minimum wage as of the date of the blanket adjustment in 2021.
The commission recommended that the minimum wage for domestic workers be increased to 88% of the national minimum wage in 2021 and 100% in 2022.
This minimum wage adjustment for domestic workers and agricultural workers would amount to an increase of about R 450 per month for a domestic worker and about R 350 per month for an agricultural worker.
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