Minimum wage increase

The Department of Labour released a media statement notifying trade unions about the wage increase. Once it becomes enacted as a law, no employee may be paid below the minimum wage, and trade unions are there to ensure that this law is upheld by the employer.

South Africa’s labour market is largely characterised by high levels of unemployment, inequality and poverty. As a means of reducing these and building towards achieving the broader policy objectives of the country, social partners have identified minimum wage as benefiting all workers in this regard.

Schedule 2 of the proposed National Minimum Wage Act sets out the minimum wage for workers with learnership agreement. The national minimum wages for other workers are as follows:

• R20 per hour to be implemented and enforced from 1 May 2018
• R18 per hour for farm and forestry workers
• R15 per hour for domestic workers
• R11 per hour for workers on the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP)