The Congress of South African Trade Unions commends financial services group Discovery for increasing its minimum wage to R16,600 per month with effect from October 2024.
The company has joined other financial service businesses who are making an effort to address the country’s widespread wage disparities. Earlier this year private banking and wealth management group Investec raised the minimum pay for its employees to R21,000 a month. This was shortly after insurance companies Sanlam and Old Mutual hiked up their pay for low-income earners committing to R15,000 monthly. This was part of the motivation for COSATU introducing the National Minimum Wage Act, to incentivise employers to exceed the minimum wage as part of competing with other employers and attracting staff.
COSATU is encouraged by the private sectors’ legal and social responsibility in responding to the high levels of income inequality. The gaps have had immense prevalence in workplaces for years and exacerbated inequality levels. Executives indulge in high packages while employees are rewarded with a fraction of the pie. Because of this greed, South Africa is still rated among the most unequal societies in the world.
The country’s progressive laws will assist in rectifying these discrepancies. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s assented the Companies’ Amendment Bills in June this year compelling listed companies and State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to disclose their financial reports to workers, and the wage gap between their highest-paid directors and lowest-paid employees to their shareholders. However, the war against non-compliance is ongoing.
Hopefully, the stance taken by Discovery and its counterparts in the financial services industry will inspire other companies to follow suit. The disclosure of financial reports and wage structures is a step closer to the much-needed transparency that will lead to addressing injustices in the workplace.
The resistance by some companies to adhere to these laws should not be tolerated if we are to dismantle contributing factors to the high poverty levels in the country. Paying workers not only a minimum but a living wage is key to reducing our entrenched levels of poverty and inequality and spurring inclusive economic growth.
Issued by COSATU
Zanele Sabela(COSATU National Spokesperson)
Mobile: 079 287 5788 / 077 600 6639
Email: zanele@cosatu.org.za