The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) is optimistic about the increase of the national minimum wage which will be effective from next month.
This comes after Employment and Labour Minister Thulasi Nxesi gazetted an increase of 8.5% to the minimum wage.
It will go up from R25. 42 to R27.58 per hour, including domestic and farm workers.
Cosatu’s Acting National spokesperson Matthew Parks says this will benefit workers in the country and boost the economy.
Parks says, “That’s a positive increase, because it will mean additional money into workers’ pockets, help them to cope with the rising cost of living, which has been quite painful for millions of working-class families.”
“It’s also going to mean that those workers have more to inject into the economy and that’s going to help further the economy on a local community level. This problem of wage, that is a different struggle but it gives a minimal flow to protect over six million workers who earn that rate.”
[Media Release] Employment and Labour Minister @NxesiThulas announces #NationalMinimumWage (NMW) for 2024 pic.twitter.com/NAXNeQYUaq
— Department of Employment and Labour (@deptoflabour) February 5, 2024
