Pay hike for domestic workers
Johannesburg – The Department of Employment and Labour’s National Minimum Wage Commission has recommended an above inflation hike to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) for 2023, which could increase the rate for domestic workers to R25.05 an hour.
In December 2022 the commission announced that it is conducting an investigation into the NMW for 2023 and an increase could be in the range of CPI+0.5% and CPI+1%. With CPI averaging around 7% for 2022, this would put the hike around 8%.
The current national minimum wage announced by Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi in February 2022 was adjusted from R21.69 in 2021 to R23.19 in 2022 for each hour worked, coming into effect on 1 March 2022.
A hike to R25.05 would push the monthly rate to over R4 000 for a worker who works eight hours a day, 20 days a month; about R300 more than in 2022.
Salary data from SweepSouth in August 2022 showed that the average domestic worker earns only R2 997 per month, below the current NMW of R3 700 a month.
On top of a hike for 2023, the commission is also looking at setting medium-term targets for the NMW.
NMW chairperson Prof Adriaan van der Walt said workers must earn enough to maintain a decent standard of living.
“That is defined as sufficient to support themselves and their families at a level that is both socially acceptable and economically viable. The target should ensure that the value of the national minimum wage does not decline relative to the median wage,” he said.
The commission is inviting representation from the public concerning the medium-term target to be set.
The commission has also started an investigation into the protection of Community Health Workers (CHWs).
Prof van der Walt said the terms of reference of this investigation are to investigate the wages and conditions of employment of Community Health Workers in the health sector.
“This is with a view to establish a sectoral determination prescribing minimum wages and conditions of employment,” Prof van der Walt said.
COSATU said the increase to the NMW was welcome, but workers want an even bigger increase, with unions pushing for 10%.
“The 8% is not what COSATU has proposed, we made a submission for CPI+3%, and with the engagement that has taken place, we were then able to move from 3% to 2%. With CPI at 7.5% at the time, this would have taken it to 9.5%. This would make a meaningful increase to the majority of the vulnerable workers, in particular the domestic workers and farm workers. The 8% increase will be supported by the public, but that would not lead to any significant improvement for workers. With the challenges in the economy today the improvement will be minimal,” the union said.
