Sadly, a South African living wage is not the so-called ‘minimum wage’ residents are earning. According to latest research by the University of Cape Town (UCT), a South Africa living wage is what our lowest-earning residents need to earn to be able to provide for their families and live a ‘decent’ life, reports IOL.
As The South African covered this week, unemployment in 2024 is worse than the country has ever seen. As a result, economists predict GDP growth for 2024 of just 1%, which is far below the 3.8% predicted for other booming African nations. It’s no wonder then that such a large portion of the country are inactive economically and relying solely on South African Social Security Agency grants to survive.
SOUTH AFRICAN LIVING WAGE
Nevertheless, Professor Meyer of UCT recently emphasised that the new South African living wage sits at R15 000. This is a figure far higher than the vast majority of minimum-wage earning residents take home each month. The number is calculated off of a quality-of-life survey for low-income participants.
While a number of people insist that R15 000 could never cover their monthly obligations, the other side argues they earn nowhere near that amount. “It’s hard to make ends meet on R15 000, yet most South Africans earn way less. The legally prescribed national minimum wage comes to only one third (roughly R5 417) of the South African living wage. How shall those whose income is even lower get by?” questioned Meyer.
A MATTER OF HUMAN DECENCY
The Living Wage South Africa Network invites the public and companies to examine its data. As a result, R15 000 is the figure it believes affords an opportunity to live a ‘decent’ life. And all employers are encouraged to pay the South African living wage voluntarily, as an act of human decency. The problem, according to Meyer, is that employers continue to judge worth based on the value of labour, opposed to an employee’s inherent value as a human being.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS LIVING WAGE?
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