Since 2019, South Africa has a national minimum wage and has set up a floor for all wages and salaries within the country. However, for many workers, actual wages depend on the outcome of negotiations with their employers.
What is the minimum wage for the citizens?
The national minimum wage is set annually by the Minister of Labor, based on a proposal by the National Minimum Wage Commission.
This committee, which includes business and labor representatives, community representatives and independent experts, considers the cost of living, economic growth, other wage levels, the capabilities of employers, including small and medium-sized businesses, their ability to maintain their business, and their impact on employment or job creation.
Anyone can propose a national minimum wage by email (email protection).
How much is it?
In February 2025, the national minimum wage was set at R28.79 per hour. This corresponds to R1,151.60 per week (4,989.88 per month) and R1,295.55 per day (R5,613.62 per month) for 9 hours.
Weekly, monthly R28.79 x 8 hours = R 230.32 R28.79 x 40 hours = R1,151.60 R1,151.60 x 4.333 = R4,989.88 R28.79 x 9 hours = R 259.11 R28.79 x 45 hours
The minimum wage does not include allowances, bonuses, uniforms, tips or food. These should be considered extras.
Workers who work less than four hours a day must pay four hours.
Who will get it?
With a few exceptions (such as the Army), the national minimum wage sets the floor for all employees, including farm workers and domestic workers. People who work for someone else can’t pay more legally than this.
However, those working under the expanded public works program have their own minimum wage, currently set at R15.83 per hour.
Employers are permitted to apply for a minimum wage exemption. However, unless they apply properly, they are liable to pay by law.
Other minimum wages
The National Minimum Wage Commission also advises the Minister of Labor on minimum wages in certain sectors, including wholesale and retail, and cleaning services. The minimum wage for these sectors is set by the minister each year and may vary in different parts of the country.
For example, in February 2025, the minimum wage for a city contract cleanser was set at R31.69 per hour or R6,179.07 per month. In retail, for example, the minimum wage for cashiers was set at R32.97 per hour or R6,210.27 per month.
Negotiated wages
The actual wages of many workers are sometimes directly through negotiations with their employers, and are often set through negotiation councils. The negotiation council is established by organized workers (unions) and employer organizations to negotiate wages and working conditions for the sector.
South Africa has dozens of negotiation councils, some covering the entire country, some covering specific geographical regions. Some have been around since the 1920s.
Industry covered by the Negotiation Council includes textiles, chemicals, automotive industry, metals and engineering, leather and buildings. There is a general negotiation council for public services, a council for sectors such as education, health, and social development, and a council for local government employees.
Contracts reached at the Negotiation Council will automatically extend to all workers and employers in the sector, whether they are members of the union or employer association. This means that ununiform workers benefit from the efforts of organized workers.
Which minimum wage is the highest?
Usually, wages set through negotiations are higher than the minimum wage set by the Minister of Labor. How high is often dependent on the trade union’s bargaining power and economic situation.
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For example, the 2024 annual wage review analyzed the minimum wage across more than 560 collective agreements (negotiation councils and company-level contracts) covering more than 2 million workers, finding that the minimum negotiation wage is generally higher than the national minimum wage.
The median minimum wage for negotiation council contracts was R6,762 per month compared to the national minimum wage of R4,776 per month (based on 40 hours per week at R27.58 per hour).
The median is the middle of the range. That is, 50% of workers exceeded R6,762 a month, and 50% were paid less.
This is part of an occasional series explaining the problems of economics. Groundup would like to thank Andrew Donaldson of the South African Labor Development Research Unit for advice on the series.
