WINDHOEK – The ministry of labour has announced new minimum wages for domestic workers, which came into effect on October 1, 2018. The new wages for domestic workers were determined by a one percent increase coupled with the average inflation rate on basic items.
The Wage Order for Domestic Workers, as published in the Government Gazette of 15 September 2017, stipulates the Minimum Wages and Supplementary Minimum Conditions of Employment for Domestic Workers and makes provision for an annual increase in wages.
Therefore, effective from the beginning of October 2018, the minimum wages for domestic workers has increased to N$1 564.39 per month, N$361.29 per week, N$72.25 per day, N$9.03 per hour and N$45.15 per day for part -time domestic workers who works five hours or less in any day other than a Sunday or public holiday.
As stipulated in section 1 7 of Labour Act (Act No. I I of 2007), all employees that work overtime are entitled to overtime pay. Thus, the minimum overtime pay for domestic workers for work performed on Sundays and public holidays are N$13.54 per hour for overtime, N$18.06 per hour for work on Sundays, N$18. 06 per hour for work on public holidays or N$90.30 per day for part-time domestic workers who work five hours or less.
Permanent Secretary in the ministry of labour, Bro-Matthew Shinguadja, explained in a statement that the increases are based on the amount equal to one percent plus a percentage equal to the average of the increases in the inflation rates for the categories “Food and Non- Alcoholic Beverages” and “Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and other Fuels”, as published by the Namibian Statistics Agency (NSA) for the preceding 12 months from the effective date.
The official statistics published by the NSA on October 1, 2018, indicates that the annual inflation rates in the afore-mentioned categories for the preceding 12 months are 2.5 percent for Food and Alcoholic Beverages and 3.8 percent for Housing, Water, Electricity and Gas. The average of the increase in inflation in the two categories is therefore 3.15 percent. As a result, the Domestic Workers’ wage has been increased on average, by 4.15 percent.
“All employers of domestic workers are hereby urged and directed to remunerate their workers in accordance with the prescribed wage or more but not less to the set minimum wage. Employers are further reminded to register or renew their registrations as Employers of Domestic Workers with the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation. This registration requirement came in force last year and is renewable annually,” Shinguadja
stated.