A living wage is in everyone’s best interest

While the national shutdown organised for August 24 drew only small crowds, the rising cost of living remains a real problem that affects us all. Given the repercussions of Covid-19, load-shedding and ever-increasing fuel prices, it is no wonder that some people feel the need to protest.

As with most things, lower-paid workers are the ones who get the short end of the stick. Their already minimal income of R23.19/hour (the national minimum wage level) now has to stretch even further. The decision between having a meal or having enough transport money to get to work is a harsh reality for many South Africans.

There are ways out of this. To lift individuals out of this perpetual poverty and afford them dignified lives we need to increase wages at the lower end of the income spectrum. The Covid pandemic — which until very recently was omnipresent and now seems a distant past — seems to have increased the number of those who agree with the proposition and have started doing so.

The argument that we cannot afford to pay an adequate wage is false. Rather, if we cannot afford to pay adequate wages we cannot afford the person’s labour. It is as simple as that. The issue is whether we want to treat those who work for us with dignity, and in that regard we have no choice.

The constitution requires us to respect and protect human dignity. In fact, next to equality and freedom, human dignity is the third value on which the country’s democracy is founded.

Paying less than a person requires to live a decent life, directly translates into “you are unworthy”. This gives us no choice but to start paying living wages. A living wage is the remuneration required for an individual and their family to attain a frugal but dignified standard of living.

There are different views on what amount allows for a dignified standard of living. Based on living wage estimates coming out of research conducted at the University of Cape Town and Tshwane University of Technology, it ranges from R12,000 to R15,000 a month for individuals working 40 hours a week. That’s about four times the national minimum wage.

Living wages ensure individuals are paid what they are owed. That income can allow them to live with their heads above water and manage the rising cost of household items. The benefit is greater though. Individuals who are repeatedly stripped of dignity, who are unseen and effectively told that they don’t matter are likely to internalise that. It is not a new idea: one just needs to look at parenting advice. The lifelong detrimental effects of putting children down have been pointed out repeatedly. Yet we seem to forget about human dignity when it comes to paying those in our employ. What happens to a person whose dignity has been compromised? Often they stop caring, about themselves and about how they are perceived by others.

Destructive behaviour is a common result, including the abuse of drugs and alcohol and destruction of property and the wellbeing and lives of others. We see it in the crime statistics. Treating people with dignity, providing them with decent work and paying them fair wages thus have positive repercussions that spread further than the individual and their immediate families.

So, what if higher wages lower the number of jobs being created? A common critique of living wages is that we should focus on creating more employment opportunities rather than increasing the wages of existing workers. Maybe this is a fallacy; maybe fewer new jobs are better than more jobs which keep individuals in poverty, and which continuously suggest the incumbent isn’t valued.

In conclusion, higher wages at the lower end of the pay spectrum also serve strategic purposes. Increased wage bills can be set off against greater profits arising from an enhanced public image, increased staff performance and loyalty towards the employer, lower absenteeism and turnover rates.

The reason lies not only, and not primarily, in the increased monetary amount, but in its symbolic meaning, which suggests to employees that they are valued and recognised.

We need adequate pay to cover our material needs. We can’t eat “feeling valued”, and “being recognised” can’t keep us warm at night. Value and recognition is what suggests “I see you, and you matter”.

• The authors work under the SA Research Chair: Creation of Decent Work & Sustainable Livelihood, funded by the National Research Foundation through the SA Research Chair Initiative and University of Cape Town. They are members of the Living Wage South Africa Network, but write in their personal capacity.