The increase for domestic worker wages, effective from 1 December 2016, was announced by the Department of Labour on Monday. The increase covers the minimum wages for contract cleaning employees and will be implemented between 1 December 2016 and 30 November 2017, when the new minimum wages will be announced.
The wages
According to a report, contract cleaning employees (including domestic workers, gardeners, housekeepers and nannies) in metropolitan areas will enjoy an increase of 8.2%, while workers from non-metropolitan areas will see a 10% increase.
The new wages, according to the South African Labour Guide, are as follows:
Workers who work more than 27 ordinary hours per week, must achieve:
| Hourly rate | Weekly rate | Monthly rate | |||
| 2016/2017 | 2015/2016 | 2016/2017 | 2015/2016 | 2016/2017 | 2015/2016 |
Area A (major metropolitan areas) | R12.42 | R11.44 | R559.09 | R514.82 | R2,422.54 | R2,230.70 |
Area B (those not included in Area A) | R11.31 | R10.23 | R508.93 | R460.15 | R2,205.17 | R1,993.82 |
Workers who work 27 ordinary hours or less per week
| Hourly rate | Weekly rate | Monthly rate | |||
| 2016/2017 | 2015/2016 | 2016/2017 | 2015/2016 | 2016/2017 | 2015/2016 |
Area A (major metropolitan areas) | R14.54 | R13.39 | R392.58 | R361.50 | R1,701.06 | R1,566.35 |
Area B (those not included in Area A) | R13.53 | R12.07 | R360.54 | R325.98 | R1,562.21 | R1,412.49 |
Sources: www.labourguide.co.za and www.gov.co.za