R4,000 needed to lift workers out of poverty
- Published on 28 Aug 2015
- HR Pulse News Desk
New research from a group at the University of the Witwatersrand indicates that to lift wage earners and their families out of poverty, earnings would need to reach around the R4,000 a month level.
This, they say, is not a recommendation but could be taken into account by policy makers when setting a national minimum wage. The research emerges as business, labour and the government have been closeted in negotiations over a national minimum wage for much of this year, with the aim to reach agreement on its level and modalities in time for President Jacob Zuma’s state of the nation speech in February. As could have been expected, there have been numerous points of contention in the discussions, which are taking place in the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac).
Apart from the minimum wage level, debates are on including all categories of workers; measuring cash earnings only or benefits as well; and where the poverty line should be drawn. Other questions relate to the economic effect of a national minimum wage on employment, consumption and growth. The National Minimum Wage Research Initiative, led by economist Gilad Isaacs and based at the School of Economics and Business Sciences at Wits University, has published a study relating to the first set of questions.
