New minimum wage of R30.23 leaves domestic workers below poverty line
As South Africa's minimum wage rises to R30.23, concerns grow over the living conditions of domestic workers.
Image: file
As South Africa’s National Minimum Wage (NMW) rises from R28.79 to R30.23 an hour, political parties criticised the increase, saying that domestic workers continue to struggle to survive. Experts warn of the need to hold defaulting employers accountable.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) said progress has been made since the NMW came into effect in 2019 at R20 per hour, with domestic workers initially pegged at R15 and farmworkers at R18.
Political parties view was that transport contributes a fifth of a domestic worker's salary, while the the lower-bound poverty line sits at around R1415. Employers are also obliged legally to register domestic workers for the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) if they work for more than 24 hours per month.
Last month, Employment and Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth announced that the NMW will increase from R28.79 to R30.23 per ordinary hours worked, effective from yesterday. She stated that this R1.44 increase benefits all workers, including farm and domestic workers.
However, workers on the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), whose minimum wage rises from R15.16 to R16.62 per hour, and learners under the Skills Development Act, whose rates will be published online, are excluded from the R30.23 rate.
In a bid to understand the impact, Cape Argus spoke with domestic worker * Nomsa, who lives in a one-bedroomed backyard flat in Delft.
Nomsa takes two taxis to Claremont with the return trip costing her R50 per day.
Her employer is compassionate and pays her R300 for an eight-hour day.
Her income of R3600 per month sees to the following expenses: R1,500 rent, R600 electricity and water, R800 transport and R1,200 on food and expenses towards crèche and school costs for two children
“I am thankful,” she says. “But with two children, everything costs. Even when you earn more, it still feels like you are behind," she said.
The NMW has faced sharp criticism from Brett Herron, a member of the Unite for Change Leadership Council and the GOOD Secretary-General, who argues that R30.23 an hour is still insufficient for a decent living.
“As of 1 March 2026, South Africa’s minimum wage will rise from R28.79 to R30.23 an hour. On paper, that sounds like progress. An extra R1.44 an hour. An extra R230.40 a month. A gesture toward dignity,” said Herron.
“But let’s be honest: this increase does not end poverty; it merely manages it.
“Consider domestic workers predominantly women and predominantly black—still living with the spatial scars of apartheid planning that pushed working-class families to the margins of our cities.”
Herron argues that a domestic worker travelling from Eerste River into Cape Town’s CBD will spend roughly R50 a day on a return taxi: “That’s R250 a week. Around R1000 a month. If she takes the Golden Arrow bus into the leafy suburbs, she may spend anywhere between R900 and R1500 a month.
“At R30.23 an hour, a full-time worker earns about R241.84 a day. Over a month, that totals R4836.80—up from R4606.40. An increase of R230.40.
“Transport alone can consume a fifth of that salary.
“After transport, she is left with roughly R3836.80—if she is fortunate.
“From that amount must come rent, electricity, food, school transport, uniforms, sanitary products, and airtime, the invisible costs of survival.
“In a single-earner household, a common issue in South Africa, that R3,836.80 must stretch across multiple lives.
“The lower-bound poverty line sits around R1415, which means a full-time worker can still fall below the poverty line."
Matthew Parks, COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator, stated that while they welcomed the implementation of the NMW, employers who do not comply with the law must be held accountable.
“COSATU is pleased with the progress we have made with the NMW since it came into effect in 2019 at R20 per hour, with domestic workers initially pegged at R15 and farmworkers at R18,” said Parks.
“While we have made progress, it is critical that the Department of Employment and Labour intensifies its crackdown on defaulting employers. Unions must continue to expose such workplaces.
"Minister Meth’s bold commitment to employ an additional 20,000 inspectors will be a welcome boost to ensuring that the abhorrent defiance of the law by some employers is addressed.”
Michael Bagraim, of Bagraims Attorneys, Labour Law specialists, stated that while an amendment has been made, unemployment continues to rise, and job losses persist. “We are advising our clients to round it up to R31 per hour. For these minimum wage earners, it is a significant amount in the sense that the wage itself is extremely low and remains completely unaffordable for living."
Queries to the Department of Employment and Labour went unanswered.