The Department of Labour has announced an increase in the minimum wage for domestic workers across South Africa, which will kick in from 1 December 2016.<\/p>\n
The department announced that in terms of Sectoral Determination 1: the minimum wages will be adjusted upwards for employees in Area A and Area B.<\/p>\n
Area A refers to large metropolitan municipalities and built up areas and suburbs \u2013 Area B is all other municipalities. The full list can be found on the department’s website<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n According to the department, ‘domestic workers’ include housekeepers, gardeners, nannies,\u00a0and domestic drivers, among others.<\/p>\n The new wages are as follows:<\/p>\n Domestic workers who work 27 ordinary hours a week or more<\/strong><\/p>\n Domestic workers who work less than 27 ordinary hours a week<\/strong><\/p>\n The rates are applicable to\u00a030 November 2017.<\/p>\n Minimum wages are a highly contentious topic in South Africa, with much debate around the potential introduction of a national minimum wage across the board.<\/p>\n Minimum wages are currently determined by sector, negotiated by bargaining councils and unions. However, it has been argued that current minimum wages in many sectors – including domestic workers and farm workers – are\u00a0far below a living wage.<\/p>\n According to research done by Wits university, a bare minimum ‘living wage’ in South Africa would be around R4,500 a month – where workers would be able to afford food and housing.<\/p>\n Other proposals from groups such as Pacsa have argued that a minimum wage would have to be closer to R8,000 per month (for a family of 5) to give workers the means to live a dignified life.<\/p>\n Various groups are pinning a minimum wage at between R4,000 and R6,000 – while economists argue against having a minimum wage at all, as such a level would lead to wide spread job losses, damaging the economy.<\/p>\n These are the jobs that pay the highest minimum wages in South Africa<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n
\n Minimum<\/th>\n Area A<\/th>\n Area B<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n Hourly Rate<\/td>\n R12.42<\/td>\n R11.31<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Weekly Rate<\/td>\n R559.09<\/td>\n R508.93<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Monthly Rate<\/td>\n R2 422.54<\/td>\n R2 205.17<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n
\n Minimum<\/th>\n Area A<\/th>\n Area B<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n Hourly rate<\/td>\n R14.54<\/td>\n R13.53<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Weekly Rate<\/td>\n R392.58<\/td>\n R360.54<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Monthly Rate<\/td>\n R1 701.06<\/td>\n R1 562.21<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n More on wages<\/h3>\n