The National Minimum Wage (NMW) came into effect from 01 January 2019 at a prescribed rate of R20 per hour. The NMW Act makes provision for granting of exemptions and the annual review of the minimum wage.

The minister of labour, Thulas Nxesi, has announced that South Africa will have a new minimum wage of R20.76 as of 1 March 2020 as per Governement Gazette published on 17 February 2020 no. 43026.

R20,76 per hour
The minimum wage of R20 per hour will increase to R20,76 per hour (an increase of 3,8%). The new minimum sets a new baseline across all sectors, with a few exceptions.

Exceptions
The exceptions include domestic workers, farm/forestry workers, workers employed in Expanded Public Works Programmes and workers with learnership agreements in terms of the Skills Development Act. These minimum wages will be as follows:

- Domestic workers: R15,57 per hour

- Farm/forestry workers: R18,68 per hour

- Workers employed on Expanded Public Works: R11,42 per hour

- Workers with learnership agreements

The schedule can be found online at : www.gpwonline.co.za

Hotline

Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi indicated that on 5 March 2020 Labour department will launch a new hotline that will allow workers to report cases of non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage (NMW), at no cost to them.