The harsh reality of minimum wage in South Africa: Families are overworked and living in debt.
Millions of South Africans with families to support are living under the boot of exploitation, expected to be grateful for the peanuts they 'earn' as they do back breaking work for minimum wage . Millions of South Africans with families to support are living under the boot of exploitation, expected to be grateful for the peanuts they 'earn' as they do back breaking work for minimum wage .
With a vivacious and larger than life personality, Zakhile's face changes when she has to speak about her job.of R4,412.80) and I have two kids to support, a 12-year-old boy and a three-year old girl. I am fully responsible for my son because his father passed on while my daughter's father assists me," she told IOL.
"Our boss does not make it easy. Sometimes we don't get paid on time. Right now, we haven't been paid in close to two months," she explained. Every month she said she ends up having to borrow money just to get by. Dlamini works as a cleaner and lives in Umlazi. She earns between R3,600 to R4,500 per month. With two children, she pays R370 a month for school transport and R580 for rent.
*Luthando Shezi, a 25-year-old man from Pietermaritzburg can relate to the stories of these women. With a qualification in business administration, he said job opportunities are few and far in between.is a little over R4,000, but he is grateful to have a job in this state of the nation's unemployment crisis."My rent is R1,500 per month for a room that I share with someone. That is a lot of money for a tiny space. I don't even have privacy," Shezi told IOL.
Millions Luthando Shezi Minimum Wage South Africans Iol Kwazulu-Natal Durban Sinenhlanhla Dlamini Zakhile Umlazi National Minimum Wage Commission Cpi R3 Pmbejd Sadtu South African Federation Of Trade Unions Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice And Dignity Grou Pietermaritzburg Umhlanga
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