{"id":638417,"date":"2022-10-29T07:00:25","date_gmt":"2022-10-29T05:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=638417"},"modified":"2022-10-29T07:02:54","modified_gmt":"2022-10-29T05:02:54","slug":"employees-should-be-paid-at-least-r12000-per-month-in-south-africa-expert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business-opinion\/638417\/employees-should-be-paid-at-least-r12000-per-month-in-south-africa-expert\/","title":{"rendered":"Employees should be paid at least R12,000 per month in South Africa: expert"},"content":{"rendered":"

Executive committee member of the South African Reward Association (SARA), Mark Bussin, says that employers in South Africa should pay their workers a living wage and not just the national minimum prescribed by law \u2013 suggesting a pay between R12,000 to R15,000 per month.<\/p>\n

Bussin defines a living wage as remuneration sufficient for an individual and their family to have a frugal yet dignified lifestyle.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorkers who earn the minimum wage often still cannot afford basic monthly essentials and are woefully unprepared for financial misfortunes, like roof repairs or hospitalisation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Currently, the minimum wage in South Africa is R23.19 for each ordinary hour worked, representing an increase of 6.9% from the minimum wage set in 2021. Considering an average 40-hour work week translates to an income close to R3,700 per month<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cLow-income workers can\u2019t survive on these amounts, and they are often forced to turn to unlicensed money lenders for additional cash to make up the shortfall,\u201d said Bussin<\/p>\n

This estimated figure is well below what many authorities believe to be a living wage in South Africa<\/a>. For example, research partners Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute (SPII), Labour Research Service and South African Social Policy Research Insights say that the average South African must earn R7,911 or more<\/strong> per month to maintain a decent standard of living (DSL).<\/p>\n

Additionally, Economics and financial market data provider Trading Economics estimates the living wage in South Africa to be R6,700 per month for an individual and R10,630 per month for a family<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

More interestingly, to make the analysis more meaningful to South African employers, professional services group PwC included additional data points, including one person contributing to a family, a family of five, and a family of six.<\/p>\n

According to PwC’s estimates, data shows that a single person will need to earn anywhere between R5,582 to R9,648 per month<\/strong> to earn a living wage.<\/p>\n

This figure increases to between R6,972 and R12,756 for a family of four<\/strong>. A family of six will need a living wage between R17,232 and R32,271.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Based on PwC\u2019s estimates, Bussin said, \u201can employee\u2019s monthly pay, therefore, should be at least R12,000 to R15,000 for a 40-hour work week<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Bussin noted that he understands that not all businesses can afford such a wage but that this number should be a target to work towards \u2013 adding that keeping jobs trumps everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a business can\u2019t afford the wage increase and the choice is to retrench, for example, 100 workers to help you afford it, I\u2019m not suggesting that – that would be suicide,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, he did propose that a good starting point is to look at the big employers in South Africa who can afford it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese big companies and their top executives and shareholders should agree to give up a little so that wages of the average worker can move towards the goal of a living wage,\u201d Bussin said.<\/p>\n

Reasoning behind the proposal <\/strong><\/p>\n

Bussin noted that many employers don\u2019t realise that financial distress among workers is bad for business. The strain of not earning enough and constantly struggling to survive can negatively affect employees physically, emotionally and cognitively.<\/p>\n

He cited a 2013 science journal article, which observed that a lack of money led study subjects to make poorer decisions. The researchers hypothesised that poverty reduced focus and effort, resulting in poor performance.<\/p>\n

The stress associated with financial hardship causes employees to make errors in judgement and inhibits their productivity. It also prevents them from reaching their full potential, increases absenteeism, and results in higher turnover rates.<\/p>\n

Bussin said that employers who pay a living wage are instrumental in eradicating poverty. Employees with disposable income are not only happier and more productive at work but are also more active in the market, stimulating economic growth.<\/p>\n

Therefore, the argument for a living wage is not only a moral one that focuses on business\u2019 obligation to society, it is also a strategically sound investment that, as it lifts the poor, creates a more prosperous business environment for companies and citizens alike, he said.<\/p>\n

\n

Read: Talent and skills preference changes in South Africa<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Executive committee member of the South African Reward Association (SARA), Mark Bussin, says that employers in South Africa should pay their workers a living wage and not just the national minimum prescribed by law \u2013 suggesting a pay between R12,000 to R15,000 per month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":551982,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[26],"class_list":["post-638417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-opinion","tag-headline"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=638417"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":638433,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638417\/revisions\/638433"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/551982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=638417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=638417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=638417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}