South Africa Minimum Wages (2024)

FAQs

What is the answer to the minimum wage? ›

The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. This rate applies to covered nonexempt workers. The minimum wage for employees who receive tips is $2.13 per hour. The amount of tips plus the $2.13 must reach at least $7.25 per hour.

South Africa's minimum hourly wage will increase by 8.5% to 27.58 rand ($1.46) from next month.

The purpose of minimum wages is to protect workers against unduly low pay. They help ensure a just and equitable share of the fruits of progress to all, and a minimum living wage to all who are employed and in need of such protection.

California's $16 hourly minimum wage may be much higher than a “poverty wage” by federal standards, but high housing costs still make it difficult for low-wage workers to make ends meet in the state, according to a new report by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.

Increases demand for goods and services

These households tend to spend a larger percentage of their income on core needs such as housing, transportation and food. Raising the minimum wage could give these families more money for discretionary spending, increasing demand for goods and services.

The purpose of the minimum wage was to stabilize the post-depression economy and protect the workers in the labor force. The minimum wage was designed to create a minimum standard of living to protect the health and well-being of employees.

The average salary in South Africa, as of September 2022, is around R26,000/month, an increase of 4.5% from 2021. In general, this basic salary includes: Public holidays. Paid time off.

In nominal terms, the average salary moderated slightly to reach R16,043. This is still 5.0% up from a year prior and 3.6% up from December's R15,484. The average nominal BTPI in Q1 2024 compared to the corresponding quarter one year earlier showed a 6.2% increase.

The output indicates that a national minimum wage results in rising real wages, which lifts household income and expenditure, boosting output and growth. As in the GPM productivity rises and inflation falls with investment as a share of GDP declining somewhat.

The term refers to any number between 100,000 to 999,999. This term is mostly used to describe a person's salary.

Does the minimum wage law apply to all workers in South Africa? ›

The Act applies to all workers and their employers except members of the South African National Defence Force, the National Intelligence Agency, and the South African Secret Service.

An employer must pay you:

In South African money. Daily, weekly, every two weeks or monthly. In cash, cheque or direct deposit. With a payslip.

Minimum Wage Has Not Kept Up With Inflation

While the minimum wage has been adjusted numerous times since its implementation in 1938, it has failed to keep up with inflation and the rising cost of living. The purchasing power of minimum wage reached its peak in 1968 and steadily declined since.

Supporters argue that increasing minimum wage can stimulate consumer spending and boost the overall economy by putting more money in the hands of low-wage workers. Critics, on the other hand, warn that higher labor costs might lead to job cuts, automation, and increased prices for goods and services.

“Most of us can't do the math in our heads. If we could, we'd realize that $15 an hour amounts to only $31,200 a year, assuming full-time work—about half of the U.S. median income and a painfully small amount for living and raising children in most American cities.” It can be painfully small outside of cities, too.

The "Fight for $15" movement started in 2012, in response to workers' inability to cover their costs on such a low salary, as well as the stressful work conditions of many of the service jobs which pay the minimum wage.

The federal minimum wage has stagnated at $7.25 an hour since 2009. Working for minimum wage does not give most people a living wage. Many states and cities have a higher minimum wage in place, more than double in some cases, but workers still struggle to make ends meet.

According to research from MIT, the living wage in the United States was $25.02 per hour ($104,077.70 per year) before taxes per year in 2022 for a family of four (two working adults with two children). That's an increase from $24.16 ($100,498.60 per year) in 2021.

A $15 minimum wage would begin to reverse decades of growing pay inequality between the lowest-paid workers and the middle class. For example, failure to adequately increase the minimum wage accounts for 48 percent of the increase in inequality between women at the middle and bottom of the wage distribution since 1979.