This is how much cashiers, trolley collectors and other supermarket workers are paid in South Africa

·26 Feb 2020

The Department of Labour has published a new gazette outlining the sectoral determinations for workers in South Africa’s wholesale and retail sectors.

The changes take effect from 1 March alongside recent changes to South Africa’s minimum wage.

These wages establish the minimum baseline across the sector and workers can earn significantly more based on their position and the company that they work for.

Workers are also paid in accordance to what part of South Africa they are based in:

	Covers
Area A	Areas around Bergrivier, Breede Valley, Buffalo City, Cape Agulhas, Cederberg, City of Cape Town, City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, City of Tshwane, Drakenstein, Ekurhuleni, Emalahleni, Emfuleni, Ethekwini Metropolitan Unicity, Gamagara, George, Hibiscus Coast, Karoo Hoogland, Kgatelopele, //Khara Hais, Knysna, Kungwini, Kouga, Hessequa local authority, Lesedi, Makana, Mangaung, Matzikama, Metsimaholo, Middelburg (Mpumalanga), Midvaal, Mngeni, Mogale, Mosselbaai, Msunduzi, Mtubatuba, Nama Khoi, Nelson Mandela, Nokeng tsa Taemane, Oudtshoorn, Overstrand, Plettenbergbaai, Potchefstroom, Randfontein, Richtersveld, Saldanha Bay, Sol Plaatjie, Stellenbosch, Swartland, Swellendam, Theewaterskloof, Umdoni, uMhlathuze and Witzenberg.
Area B	All Areas not listed in Area A.

Covers

Area A

Areas around Bergrivier, Breede Valley, Buffalo City, Cape Agulhas, Cederberg, City of Cape Town, City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, City of Tshwane, Drakenstein, Ekurhuleni, Emalahleni, Emfuleni, Ethekwini Metropolitan Unicity, Gamagara, George, Hibiscus Coast, Karoo Hoogland, Kgatelopele, //Khara Hais, Knysna, Kungwini, Kouga, Hessequa local authority, Lesedi, Makana, Mangaung, Matzikama, Metsimaholo, Middelburg (Mpumalanga), Midvaal, Mngeni, Mogale, Mosselbaai, Msunduzi, Mtubatuba, Nama Khoi, Nelson Mandela, Nokeng tsa Taemane, Oudtshoorn, Overstrand, Plettenbergbaai, Potchefstroom, Randfontein, Richtersveld, Saldanha Bay, Sol Plaatjie, Stellenbosch, Swartland, Swellendam, Theewaterskloof, Umdoni, uMhlathuze and Witzenberg.

Area B

All Areas not listed in Area A.

While government adjusted these wages as recently as October 2019, the updated wages take into account the new minimum wage as well as the associated salary increases.

As such, most workers in the retail sector can expect increases of around 3.8%. This is despite trade unions calling for an increase of 12.5%.

The below table shows the monthly wages for workers in both Area A and Area B:

Driver type	Area A	Area B
General assistant/Trolley collector	R4 047.89	R4 047.89
Security guard	R4 047.89	R4 047.89
Forklift operator	R4 047.89	R4 047.89
Merchandiser/Shop Assistant/Checker/Deli Assistant	R4 047.89	R4 047.89
Cashier	R4 478.81	R4 047.89
Clerk/Sales Assistant	R5 270.44	R4 644.54
Displayer	R5 473.23	R4 490.50
Supervisor	R6 481.30	R5 637.02
Trainee manager	R7 001.91	R6 025.04
Assistant manager	R7 621.96	R6 637.29
Manager	R8 359.01	R7 196.90