Attorney Michael de Broglio on: South Africa, Law, Politics, Attorneys, Sport, Photography, Technology, Gadgets, Media, Crime, Road Accidents Fund,
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I was happy to see the announcement by Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa, for a minimum wage in South Africa. Minimum wages around the world are not that popular, but my honest opinion is that it is not a bad idea. I understand that the counter-argument insofar as many domestic workers are going to be concerned is that people will say they cannot afford them, but honestly, if they cannot afford to pay R3,500 a month to hire somebody to work for them, then I believe that they can do their cleaning and house hold work themselves.
R3,500 a month is a very small amount in international terms at approximately $261 a month - which will only be introduced in 2018. I think it is the way to go and I think it is a fantastic decision. I think that most people will find a way to be able to stretch their finances and afford that rate which works out at a minimum of R20 per hour.
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Monday 27-Feb-17
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Comments
Brenda van den Bergh said:
on Tuesday 14-Mar-17 04:11 PM
R3 500.00 is such a little salary and it is still heart breaking when you know that people are trying to survive on such a little salary. What rights to people have who are being paid less than that for a full months' job?
brumilde said:
on Wednesday 08-Mar-17 08:41 AM
Seems SA is waking up. Allot of people still earn less than that. Hopefully this will help the people a bit. But this also has a downside... i am sorry i cant pay you that.. there is someone who will work for less because they need the money more type of scenarios
Joyce said:
on Tuesday 07-Mar-17 09:23 AM
I think minimum wage is a good idea and right decision taken for South Africans.
Zindy said:
on Monday 06-Mar-17 02:04 PM
People are so desperate for work that they would work for peanuts nowadays, R3500 does sound like a lot to some but could you survive on that is another question.
Nicolle said:
on Monday 06-Mar-17 10:52 AM
I am absolutely thrilled with this announcement! The proposed a figure of R3 500.00 is great news. I believe that currently, approximately 50% of working South Africans live below the this figure.
Hopefully, however, Growing the economy becomes a top priority which will enable the minimum wage to increase to a much higher limit and create many more job opportunities.
Prishani said:
on Monday 06-Mar-17 09:48 AM
I agree with this decision, it is so important to have guidelines as both employers and employees. This may help with uncertainty regarding salaries and what a reasonable or fair amount is.
Nicky said:
on Thursday 02-Mar-17 04:35 PM
I agree that a minimum wage is a good idea and would at least regulate exploitation of employees. I think that it could lead to unemployment but maybe it could also lead to more minimum wage earners actually being employed by employers that will not exploit them and will pay the minimum wage.
Nikita said:
on Thursday 02-Mar-17 04:33 PM
I think this is a good decision but still not a fair decision. The reality is that R3500 is really nothing in this day and age living in South Africa. However the desperation is real and people will work for anything including below minimum wage just to feed their families. It is a bit of a vicious circle though when it comes to the issue of domestic workers because due to the financial burdens both parents have to work these days to keep food on the table and hire domestic workers to care for the children whilst they are at work for long hours. This might put a lot of pressure on those type of families that are barely making it as it is.
Helen said:
on Thursday 02-Mar-17 10:20 AM
R3500.00 is very little to get thru the month in South Africa, and telling the truth I do not know how some people managing to raise their kids even on less money.
If I could afford I would pay even more to domestic worker to help me with cleaning, but it is not possible at this moment, so I am doing cleaning of my house myself for some time. I think the rate domestic worker charging min of R150.00 per day, but of course some of domestic workers are not busy every day....
Zanell said:
on Wednesday 01-Mar-17 08:50 AM
I just can't see everybody will be able to afford that .I think some people will work for less because it will be better than nothing and people are desperate for work. If you cannot afford to pay the R3500 a month then I suppose you could have them in twice a week instead of everyday.
Lourien said:
on Wednesday 01-Mar-17 08:48 AM
This is great and I am glad the government has increased the minimum wages, as R3500.00 is still very little and I for one do not know how someone would survive on that alone. If you cant pay for a service then you should not be using that service. There will always be people that try to pay them less than the minimum wages, but when this is enforced at least it makes it slightly more difficult for them to pay low wages.
Melissa van Tellingen said:
on Wednesday 01-Mar-17 08:33 AM
Another step in the right direction for SA. Some South African business owners take advantage of their employers and this will put a stop to all of it.
Sinead said:
on Tuesday 28-Feb-17 04:34 PM
I must agree that this is a great decision! If you have someone cleaning your house and looking after your children everyday of the week then the least you can do is pay them a decent salary. It's a different story if they only come in once or twice a week and have no children to look after but minimum wage is a brilliant decision... Like you say, if they can't afford that, then clean your own house
Jolene said:
on Tuesday 28-Feb-17 04:12 PM
I agree, minimum wage is a great idea, people take advantage of their domestic workers especially when they are not South African. I must say it is quite hard to find someone reliable these days. Our lady is great I don’t mind to pay a little extra and know everything will be perfect when I get home.
Suzanne said:
on Tuesday 28-Feb-17 08:45 AM
Although I can not afford to get someone full time, I do think this is a great idea! R3 500 is a very small amount to survive on and most domestic workers look after their own family, plus their elderly and also brothers and sisters and their kids. I only think it's fair.
Brenda Du Toit said:
on Tuesday 28-Feb-17 08:41 AM
I'm happy they made this decision,What is R3500.00 per month for someone to clean after you if you don't want to pay the minimum wage for your domestic workers do it yourself
Michelle said:
on Tuesday 28-Feb-17 08:01 AM
Surely R3500 is a very low salary. And I know that I myself will never be able to survive on that amount of money. But there are also a lot of government departments you can earn money for, especially if you have children you can’t look after. I can think to be a Domestic worker isn`t always nice, to clean after other people that can’t even clean up a little after themselves. But it’s coming down to if you can’t pay the Minimum wages don't hire someone you can’t afford.
Mathilda said:
on Tuesday 28-Feb-17 07:24 AM
I'm happy they made this decision, because some people take advantage of their domestic workers
I mean some of them actually do everything from cleaning your house to looking after your kids some even cook
I can't imagine how some survive on only R3500.00 a month, life is so expensive
Cornelie said:
on Monday 27-Feb-17 04:55 PM
I also agree if you cannot offord that amount rather do it yourself also what is R3500 for the work they do to clean after you. I also only get someone once a week.
Daniella said:
on Monday 27-Feb-17 04:52 PM
I agree completely if you cannot afford to pay someone the minimum wage then you need to do it yourself.
Henrietta said:
on Monday 27-Feb-17 04:47 PM
I honestly am not one who can afford a domestic worker full time and do my cleaning and household work myself. I have someone come in every now and then to assist with the heavy cleaning. I do feel sorry for most of them who accept smaller salaries just to have a job. Life is really expensive and I don't think any of us can live on a salary of R 3500.00. I agree that it is a great decision.
Natasha said:
on Monday 27-Feb-17 04:36 PM
I think its a great idea because you also need to live you cant work for free and things are becoming very expensive and a minimum of R20 per hour is not a lot at all
patrick said:
on Monday 27-Feb-17 03:06 PM
I agree although this is basically used as an election stepping stone. it is long overdue.
Angelique Jurgens said:
on Monday 27-Feb-17 02:52 PM
It is a great decision indeed. Sadly, people will still be exploited because they are desperate for the work. Either that or foreigners will work equally as hard (if not harder) for a less than equal salary. R3500 alone is not enough. I don't know what my mom paid our domestic worker back in the day but I remember her working often and looking after us. She would do almost everything because my mom was a single mom and worked long hours. The point is that one needs to look after their domestic worker because they look after your home, your kids etc. It truly is sad, which is why I understand why domestic workers rather get piece jobs than full time jobs because they get paid more. I have heard nightmare stories of how people pay domestic workers little to nothing then still make them bring their own food to work. The transportation costs alone is a huge chunk out of their money. I open the announcement with open arms and hope it is enforced. There should be a hefty fine that goes back to the domestic worker if you are caught exploiting them.
Liz said:
on Monday 27-Feb-17 02:37 PM
I think that introducing a minimum wage is an excellent idea, it will prevent the exploitation of domestic workers, and because of the effort amount of work involved in doing one's own housework, I do not think that the minimum wage introduction will lead to domestic workers losing their jobs.
Melissa said:
on Monday 27-Feb-17 02:26 PM
I agree, If you can't afford someone don't hire them as easy as that. R3500 is absolutely nothing, you can only buy food for one week and then still need to pay for water and lights etc. Life is really expensive. We can all be grateful we have a job.
Juliet said:
on Monday 27-Feb-17 02:16 PM
I think it is important to protect employees by having a minimum wage. Whether employers will actually enfore this is another story. I had a woman phone me about her domestic worker who was involved in a motor vehicle accident. She applauded herself on how she loves this woman, how she has worked for her for 20 years and works 7 days a week and then I received the salary slip.... absolutely disgraceful to pay someone R2000 for working 7 days a week for 20 years!!! There should be a domestic worker commission that goes around checking salaries of people employed in homes!
Jadine said:
on Monday 27-Feb-17 01:54 PM
I think that the minimum wage is a great thing. It is only fair since the price of living has increased so drastically in recent times. However, I am concerned that this could lead to some people losing their jobs or an increase in employment of those who do not have valid work permits. Furthermore, this may discourage families from hiring help. Thus, a minimum wage is a step in the right direction on paper but I'm not sure whether realistically it will play out as planned.
Jessica Apfel said:
on Monday 27-Feb-17 01:43 PM
I am glad that South Africa has made this decision - it will avoid much exploitation in the workplace. However, there have been questions as to whether certain 'benefits' assist in reaching this monthly income - for instance 'live in' domestic workers who recieve groceries as well as water, electricity etc? Will they still be able to take home the very little R3500 p.m? I doubt it!
Thabitha said:
on Monday 27-Feb-17 10:56 AM
Nowadays everything is so expensive if you think about it some people are spending more than R3,500 for groceries for a month, to other people is a salary for a month everything must be done or paid on that salary travelling, electricity, water and food. I must say I respect them more than anyone else especially does who are doing their job properly and trustworthy rather than does who will beg and not appreciate.
Bianca said:
on Monday 27-Feb-17 10:47 AM
This really makes me happy, it is about time that this was reviewed. I do believe that R3500.00 really isn't unreasonable and if you think about it, it really is a small amount of money for someone to support a family on. In realistic terms I don't know how anyone survives on less than that but I do believe that the increase will make a massive difference in the lives of those effected.
Dune said:
on Monday 27-Feb-17 09:51 AM
I am happy that they have changed the minimum wage, to see the amount of work some of these domestic workers actually do for some households are shocking especially if you know what they get paid. It is also true that most households can afford to have a full time domestic worker and only request their assistance once a week, and this does not offer any security whatsoever.
Jessica M said:
on Monday 27-Feb-17 09:32 AM
I am happy that they have made this decision. However not everyone gets paid what they worth. And as does most companies if you not happy with what you earn, then shame find something else. This will apply to domestic workers too. So I personally don't need mine, but she asked me to hire her because she needs the money. I only use her 3 times a week and even though she doesn't do a good job at all, I still pay her. but each to their own.
Lucretia said:
on Monday 27-Feb-17 09:16 AM
Unfortunately many people cannot afford paying a domestic worker R3500.00 per month. Because of this, many domestic workers end up working piece work which at the end of the day does not offer security. I understand that R3500.00 is a very small wage but, if you don't have that kind of money for a luxury, you go without - more unemployment in the domestic market..........sad, but true.
Ashleigh said:
on Monday 27-Feb-17 09:10 AM
If they do the minimum wage, then the government can expect a lot more unemployment. I feel bad that domestic workers are working for less than what they should get paid but their employers are not earning what hey also worth to be able to increase their domestic workers salaries. People are working full day and get home late in the evening where they cannot attend to their household as well. If life was like back in the days where woman could stay at home so that they could cook and clean, there would be no issues. But you need two incomes in order to live nowadays. Domestic Workers are desperate for jobs and even when you do advise them you cannot afford them, they do still insist on the job.
Alexis said:
on Monday 27-Feb-17 08:52 AM
I think that it is a fantastic decision and yes, if you cannot afford to give someone a decent salary, do it yourself.
Angelique P said:
on Monday 27-Feb-17 08:51 AM
If you think about is R3500 minimum is a very low amount to get per month. Life is so expensive.
If you have a family that you need to take care of that kind of money will never be enough.
If you can't pay the minimum wage then don't bother to hire people. You can’t expect that they must survive on that money.
Nina said:
on Monday 27-Feb-17 08:39 AM
I agree. If you cannot afford to pay the minimum wage, then you always have the option of doing the cleaning etc. yourself. Nobody likes it, but it won't kill you.
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
