Union members gathered outside the Cape Town Civic Centre.
- The National Minimum Wage Commission is considering a salary adjustment in the range of CPI plus 0.5% and CPI plus 1% for 2023.
- youhis adjustment would raise the wage up to R25.13 per hour, based on current inflation rates.
- Starting this year, domestic workers receive the same minimum wage as other workers.
- For more financial news, go to News24 Business Cover.
The minimum wage could rise more than 8% next year, according to a new proposal from the Labor Department’s National Minimum Wage Commission (NMW).
The commission has proposed an increase in the consumer price index (CPI) plus 0.5% to 1%.
In November, the CPI reached 7.4%. If a CPI plus 1% increase is adopted, at the current rate of inflation, that would increase the minimum wage to around R25.13 per hour. For those who work nine hours a day, this equates to a monthly salary of around R4 750.
The minimum wage increased by almost 7% in March 2022, from R21.69 to R23.19 an hour. For the first time, domestic workers earned the full minimum wage. In the past, their salaries were set below the minimum wage.
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Interested parties have until January 13, 2023 to respond to the new proposal, the department said.
NMW President Professor Adriaan van der Walt said the commission aimed to ensure that the value of the national minimum wage does not decrease relative to the median wage.
“All salaried workers must earn enough to maintain a decent standard of living, defined as enough to support themselves and their families at a level that is both socially acceptable and economically viable,” Van Der Walt said.
Food and fuel prices rose in 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine, which triggered a spike in oil prices and created short-term shortages of grains and cooking oils. As a result, millions of households have found it difficult to pay for transportation and food.
Bread and cereal prices were almost 20% higher in November than a year ago, Estadísticas SA reported. The prices of laundry soap (+38%), sunflower oil (+32%) and coffee (+25%) have also skyrocketed.
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But businesses, hit hard by skyrocketing interest rates and record cargo loss, may be resisting a proposed sharp increase in the minimum wage.
