Public input sought on minimum wage adjustments

With the current National Minimum Wage (NMW) sitting at R27.58 per hour, a possible increase is on the cards for next year.

The NMW commission is calling for public input on the adjustments, with the closing date for submissions 30 September.

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“Written representations will be forwarded to the minister of employment and labour together with the commission’s report to decide on the 2025 determination,” said NMW commission chairperson Professor Imraan Valodia.

While the minimum wage was increased this year from R25.42 to R27.58, workers employed on the Expanded Public Works Programme are currently entitled to a minimum wage of R15.16 per hour.

The NMW was first introduced in 2019 at a minimum of R20 per hour. It applies to all workers and their employers except members of the South African National Defence Force, the National Intelligence Agency and the South African Secret Service.

The Act does not apply to a volunteer, who is a person who performs work for another person and who does not receive or is not entitled to receive any remuneration for his or her service.

While there has been some opposition to its implementation and concerns over its year-on-year increase, the Department of Employment and Labour has maintained that it aims to protect low-earning workers, including domestic and farm workers.

Speaking at a seminar in Richards Bay late last year, Dr Pravine Naidoo from the Advocacy and Stakeholder Relations unit warned that those who pay employees less than the set national minimum wage face fines.

“Employers will be fined by a labour inspector an amount equal to twice the value of the underpayment or twice the monthly wage, whichever is greater for first offenders, and an amount equal to thrice the value of the underpayment or thrice the monthly wage, whichever is the greater, for repeat offenders,” said Dr Naidoo.

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