The Minister of Employment and Labour has published Gazettes setting out the increases in the NMW (National Minimum Wage), various Sectoral Determinations as well as the “earnings threshold”.
These will be effective on 1 March 2021 and the table below depicts the same.
It is common knowledge that the business representatives made a minority submission to the NMW Commission that most of these increases that are above CPI (3 (Three) % at the time) would further damage the ailing economy and employment prospects. In particular, the equalization of farmworkers to the general minimum wage with immediate effect from 1 March 2021 represents around a 16 (Sixteen) % increase and that of domestic workers an 18 (Eighteen) % increase. These increases come at a difficult time for both employers and employees – the latter struggling to recover from the impact of (COVID-19) disruptions on earnings and employment prospects.
| Employment type | Previous rate | New rate | % increase | Impact |
| Earnings Threshold | R205 433. pa | R211 596. pa | 3% (R6163) | BCEA Chapter 2 working arrangements and certain equal treatment provisions in the LRA |
| NMW General | R20.76 ph | R21.69 ph | 4.5% (93cph) | |
| NMW Farm Workers | R18.68 ph | R21.69 ph | 16% (R3.01) | |
| NMW Domestic Workers | R15.57 ph | R19.09 ph | 18% (R3.52) | |
| Sectoral Determinations | 4.5% | Contract Cleaning, Wholesale and retail etc. |
Ref_ Global Business + https://businesstech.co.za/news/finance/466514/this-is-the-new-minimum-wage-for-south-africa/
