- A worker earning R30.23 an hour could make R5,320.48 in 22 eight-hour working days before deductions.
- In one household example, transport and electricity take R3,375.45, leaving just R1,945.03 before food and other bills.
November has barely started, but for many low-paid workers most of the month’s money may already be spoken for.
South Africa’s national minimum wage is R30.23 an hour. A worker who gets eight paid hours a day for 22 working days would earn R5,320.48 before deductions.
But getting to work and keeping the lights on can take almost two-thirds of that money before a family buys a loaf of bread.
The Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group uses a household example in its latest affordability index to show how quickly a minimum wage disappears.
Its calculation assumes a worker in Pietermaritzburg makes four R24 taxi trips on every working day.
That comes to R2,112 for transport over 22 days.
The group then budgets R1,263.45 for 350 units of prepaid electricity.
Together, transport and electricity cost R3,375.45.
That leaves only R1,945.03 from the worker’s R5,320.48 before food, rent, toiletries, school expenses, debt repayments and other household costs are considered.
The problem becomes even clearer when food is added.
A basic nutritious food basket for a family of four cost R3,828.72 in October.
If the worker used every cent left after transport and electricity for food, the family would still be R1,883.69 short.
The calculation does not mean every minimum-wage household has exactly the same costs. Transport fares, electricity prices, hours worked and household sizes differ.
But it shows how little room low-paid workers can have in their budgets even before unexpected expenses arrive.
The national minimum wage increased from R28.79 to R30.23 an hour in March this year.
The Department of Employment and Labour says R30.23 is the legal hourly floor for most workers, including domestic and farm workers. People employed through the Expanded Public Works Programme have a separate minimum rate of R16.62 an hour.
Food costs are another pressure.
The affordability group’s average household basket of 44 foods cost R5,512.53 in October, while a nutritionally complete basket for a family of seven cost R6,692.25.
And November brings another month of transport, electricity, food and other bills before many families can think about Christmas spending.
For workers living close to the minimum wage, the question at the start of the month may not be how much they can save.
It may simply be how far the money left after getting to work and keeping the electricity on can stretch.
