Minimum wage for domestic workers increased

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The minimum wage for domestic workers has been increased by seven percent, the labour department said on Tuesday.

The hike applied to both urban and rural areas, employment standards executive manager Virgil Seafield said in a statement.

"Starting on December 1, minimum wages of domestic workers employed for more than 27 hours a week in area A will rise from R6.88 per hour to R7.40. Put another way, their wages will go up from R1340.95 to R1442.86 per month,'' he said.

The increase was based on the consumer price index (CPI) of 6.6 percent, plus one percent for area A, which is mainly cities and big towns.

The wages for area B, in more rural areas, will rise from R5.63 per hour to R6.11 or from R1097.40 to R1191.78 per month. This increase was based on CPI plus two percent.

Domestic workers who work for less than 27 hours in a month had their minimum wages increased from R8.12 to R8.74 per hour for area A, and from R6.65 to R7.22 for area B.
 
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In this ecconomy, will this not mean that people will lay off domestic workers and in doing that they are putting more people in the poor house?

Still way to little IMO.
 
No biggie here - I already pay mine more than double that rate - but seriously, people are expected to live off that?

Of course it means the cleaning service is going to want more. :o
 
That's their wage , we give our domestic on top of that - breakfast, lunch , groceries, clothing now and again and taxi fare.

not all of us can afford it nowadays, at all the spars, pick n pays where they have employment boards full of domestics looking for work.
Not every employer is getting an increase!
Looks like they will have get bigger boards....
 
bwana said:
No biggie here - I already pay mine more than double that rate - but seriously, people are expected to live off that?

Of course it means the cleaning service is going to want more. :o
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Better than trying to live off nothing.
 
bwana said:
No biggie here - I already pay mine more than double that rate - but seriously, people are expected to live off that?

Of course it means the cleaning service is going to want more. :o
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also pay our maid more than double that rate.

She told me the other day that when she applied for a loan at a furniture store the people could not believe she is a domestic worker.
 
Alan said:
Better than trying to live off nothing.
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That is almost nothing, think of all the basic things you have to spend money on, then think how far you would get with R7.40/hour.

Last domestic worker we had got paid a lot more + food, clothes, groceries etc., and then she decided to do some affirmative shopping.
 
KhoisanX said:
That is almost nothing, think of all the basic things you have to spend money on, then think how far you would get with R7.40/hour.

Last domestic worker we had got paid a lot more + food, clothes, groceries etc., and then she decided to do some affirmative shopping.
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But if she did not earn a cent... she would have done the same.
You live according to your income.

You do not steal because you are hungry you steal because you are a thief.
 
Mila said:
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In this ecconomy, will this not mean that people will lay off domestic workers and in doing that they are putting more people in the poor house?

Still way to little IMO.
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Over a hundred rand a month increase? If your budget is that tight you can't afford a maid anyway. Probably doesn't even cover taxi fare.
 
Nick333 said:
Over a hundred rand a month increase? If your budget is that tight you can't afford a maid anyway. Probably doesn't even cover taxi fare.
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I know that.:rolleyes: I'm just saying that there are people that is in sooooo much doodoo that this will happen. And I think there are domestics that will rather work for less than for nothing.

Or do you think people will rather have nothing.

I think this might have been the wrong time to do this. But a bigger increase would also be recomended.
 
Mila said:
But if she did not earn a cent... she would have done the same.
You live according to your income.

You do not steal because you are hungry you steal because you are a thief.
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I agree, I was just pointing out that she was better off than most of her peers yet still took advantage of us. It didn't really have anything to do with wages or an increase, just venting some of the frustration caused by coming home to unwashed dishes etc.
 
Mila said:
In this ecconomy, will this not mean that people will lay off domestic workers and in doing that they are putting more people in the poor house?
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Yes, minimum wage laws raise unemployment, that's exactly what they do; this is a very well-established economic principle. It also raises the entry barrier threshold for poor entrepreneurs, thus effectively favoring large corporates and 'keeping the poor poor'; it also helps keep the cost of goods artificially high (which again favors big corporates and holds back competition from smaller players). People also complain about the cost of living and how minimum wage is still very low, but minimum wage factors into the cost of everything you purchase; were it not for minimum wage, everything would be cheaper, so you'd be able to afford more for less. Cf. Malaysia for an example; extremely low unemployment, but things like food and cellphones are extremely cheap so even the poor can afford everything they need.
 
no matter how you look at it, living off R1400 or R2000 in 2009 can't be easy.
 
jct said:
no matter how you look at it, living off R1400 or R2000 in 2009 can't be easy.
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It all depends on one's lifestyle. No bonds, no credit cards, no car payments, no food for pets, no school fees, all you are left to pay for is groceries, clothes, and taxi fares. It can be done.
 
JungleBoy said:
It all depends on one's lifestyle. No bonds, no credit cards, no car payments, no food for pets, no school fees, all you are left to pay for is groceries, clothes, and taxi fares. It can be done.
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But most domestic workers do have kids or have to send money home to care for the rest of the family.
 
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