What you need to earn to live a ‘decent’ life in South Africa

Data from the PMBEJD Group and Living Wage South Africa Network noted that the average South African should earn a minimum of between R10,750 and R15,000 per month if they are to live a “decent” life.

This range reflects the basic income needed to cover essential household expenses, ensure a level of dignity, and maintain household functionality for a typical South African worker and their family.

Affordability, in its simplest form, is the ability to meet the cost of goods and services based on one’s income.

For many workers, their income must stretch to cover their families’ needs.

A wage that supports a “decent” life is defined as one that can afford a worker and their family the fundamental necessities such as food, transport, housing, electricity, and other basic services.

The PMBEJD Group highlights the strain on households where a single breadwinner supports an average of 4.1 people, based on data from September 2024.

This means that many families, even with one member working, face significant challenges in covering their monthly expenses.

The National Minimum Wage (NMW), as adjusted by the government, remains insufficient to bridge the gap between basic living costs and income.

In March 2024, the Minister of Employment and Labour introduced an 8.5% increase in the National Minimum Wage, raising it from R25.42 per hour to R27.58 per hour.

For a worker putting in an 8-hour day, this translates to about R220.64 daily and R4,633.44 monthly, assuming a 21-day work month.

While this increase is a step toward providing workers with better compensation, it falls far short of what is needed to sustain a decent standard of living.

The PMBEJD’s data shows that the minimum wage, even with this adjustment, leaves a worker R6,000 short each month when considering basic household expenses such as transportation, electricity, and food.

The PMBEJD’s data, based on their Basic Nutritional Food Basket for a family of four in major South African cities, confirms that even after accounting for essentials, a person earning the minimum wage will struggle to meet the basic costs of living.

The data reveals that a wage of R10,750 per month is the bare minimum necessary for dignity and functionality. Yet, some experts view even this figure as insufficient.

The Living Wage South Africa Network, through its research, contends that a figure closer to R15,000 per month is required for a worker to truly live a decent life.

This figure represents what is known as a “living wage”—an income level that allows a worker not only to meet essential needs but also to save for future emergencies and to avoid financial vulnerability.

According to Ines Meyer, spokesperson for the Network, this amount takes into account the lived experiences of workers across South Africa.

The organisation has collected data from individuals to assess how well their income enables them to make meaningful choices in areas such as housing, healthcare, employment quality, and overall well-being.

Meyer emphasises that while the NMW is a legally required baseline that employers must meet, it often does not fulfill the real needs of workers.

A living wage, on the other hand, is something that employers are encouraged to offer voluntarily.

She points out that providing workers with a living wage aligns with the South African Constitution, which guarantees citizens the right to live with dignity.

Despite this, many employers argue that even meeting the minimum wage is financially burdensome and that offering a living wage would exacerbate unemployment by making labour costs prohibitively expensive.

Meyer disagrees, citing international research that shows financially stable workers are more productive, motivated, and less likely to take sick leave, which ultimately benefits employers.

Furthermore, there is no solid evidence that suggests that paying decent wages leads to higher unemployment.

Development economist Dieter von Fintel from Stellenbosch University adds that while the incremental increases in South Africa’s minimum wage have not harmed employment, larger hikes could potentially have more significant impacts.

He notes that while the current wage hikes have reduced working hours in some sectors, they have not led to widespread job losses.

However, he cautions that more research is needed to understand the effects of significantly higher wages on employment trends.

Ultimately, ensuring a decent life in South Africa requires balancing fair wages with economic realities, but the need for a living wage is increasingly clear.

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