On 30 September 2024, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute made a submission to the Department of Employment and Labour on the National Minimum Wage Annual Review 2024. The submission recommends that the national minimum wage should be adjusted and that the adjustment should consider rising food prices as even those in low-income employment, such as domestic workers and farmworkers, are struggling to meet their basic needs. As noted in the submission, according to data by Statistics South Africa,
Over the past year and a half the impact of rising inflation has been felt by all groups in South Africa. By March 2023, food inflation in South Africa reached a 14-year high of 14,4% which affected some of the core food groups that most rely on like grain products, oils and fats, meat, milk and eggs. The cost of eggs saw steep rises in October 2023 due to an outbreak of avian flu which adversely affected the poultry industry.
The submission makes this recommendation based on research that has informed a forthcoming report by SERI on food insecurity that documents how some of our client groups are being affected. It provides an analysis of the legal and policy framework governing food security. The submission focuses largely on the issue of food affordability and the various coping strategies that low-income households employ to minimise the impacts of food inflation. The second issue discussed in the submission focuses on the implications of food insecurity for the national minimum wage.
The submission has also been endorsed by our partners the Commercial, Stevedoring, Agricultural and Allied Workers’ Union (CSAAWU) and Izwi Domestic Workers Alliance.
- Download the submission here.