A recent announcement by the Department of Employment and Labour has confirmed an increase in the National Minimum Wage for workers, raising hourly pay to R28.79, a 4.4% increase from last year’s R27.58, Cape {town} Etc reports.
The change, set to take effect on 1 March 2025, aligns with inflation trends and aims to improve living conditions for many workers across South Africa.
The updated minimum wage will apply to all workers, including those in domestic and agricultural sectors, though workers in the government’s extended public works programme will see a lower rate of R15.83 per hour. Additionally, contract cleaners in major and select municipalities will receive R31.69 per hour, a higher rate for certain industries.
For most workers, the new rate translates to R1 295.55 a week (for a 45-hour workweek) and R5 613.62 a month. However, the wage increase is expected to have different impacts depending on the sector. Domestic workers, while benefiting from the mandatory raise, face mounting challenges in a sector that has been under significant pressure due to economic factors.
Domestic work has been on the decline since the Covid-19 pandemic, with a loss of roughly 150 000 jobs, as noted in the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey. Despite a small recovery, the sector has not returned to the more than 1 million jobs it saw at the end of 2019. This decrease is partly due to the financial strain faced by private households, which are often the primary employers of domestic workers. When faced with economic difficulties, such as inflation and high interest rates, many households have opted to cut domestic help as a cost-saving measure.
Emigration has also contributed to this trend, with many households choosing to let go of their domestic workers as they move abroad. According to SweepSouth’s 2024 Domestic Worker Report, 21% of domestic workers lost their jobs between 2023 and 2024, with a significant portion of these losses attributed to employers being unable to afford wages.
Despite the wage increase, the actual pay many domestic workers receive remains well below the minimum requirement. SweepSouth’s data showed that the average monthly wage for women was only R3 349 and for men, R3 059 – substantially lower than the R5 600+ that full-time workers should earn under the new minimum wage.
The challenges faced by domestic workers in 2025 will likely persist, with some employers potentially opting to reduce staff rather than comply with the wage hike. Others may continue to underpay workers, risking legal repercussions.
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