Dorah* applied for work as a cleaner, but when her new employer told her she would only be getting R15 per hour, she was a bit upset. She doesn’t know what exactly the minimum wage is for cleaners, but it has to be more than that! When she asked him about it, he said she must stop complaining because she was lucky to get a job at all, and that if she was going to be difficult about the wages, he would just find someone else. AZIKHIPHI! That’s not on! Scorpion Legal Protection explains what the minimum wage for cleaners is by law, as well as a new system that the Department of Labour has put in place to help employees report employers not complying with the law.
Scorpion Legal Protection’s advice
The new minimum wage for the contract cleaning sector came into effect on 1 February 2019. These are the new minimum wage rates for contract cleaners by area:
Area A: R22.00 per hour.
Metropolitan Councils - City of Cape Town, Greater East Rand Metro, City of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela. Local Council - Emfuleni, Merafong, Mogale City, Metsimaholo, Randfontein, Stellenbosch and Westonaria.
Area B: R22.20 per hour.
All Areas In KwaZulu-Natal.
Conditions of employment for KwaZulu-Natal areas will be subject to the agreement concluded in the Bargaining Council for the Contract Cleaning Service Industry KwaZulu-Natal (BCCCI) published in the Government Gazette No. 38468 dated 13 February 2015.
Area C: R22.07 per hour.
The rest of South Africa.
You can view the official government document here.
If your employer is paying you less than the minimum wages above, you can report them the relevant bargaining council. If the bargaining council finds the employer guilty, they could be fined. For enforcement purposes, the bargaining council award may be certified and referred to the CCMA. These fines can be retrospectively applied, which means that an employer can be caught 12 months down the line and could be forced to back-pay employees because the fines will be given from the first time the employer didn’t comply with the law.
The Department of Labour (DOL) is also busy with a project called “Impimpi Alive” to help deal with employers who don’t comply with the minimum wages. Workers will be able to send anonymous SMSes to the DOL, after which an inspector will be sent to the company within 48 hours to investigate.
Tips:
- You have the right to minimum wage, there are laws in place to protect you.
- You can report your employer to the Department of Labour if you are not being paid minimum wage.
If you have a query, follow us on our Facebook page and ask your question during our next Live Q&A (every first Thursday of the month).
* This is only basic advice and cannot be relied on solely. Names have been changed to protect identity.