With the cost of fuel having risen so sharply recently plus more fuel hikes being announced for this month plus the government fuel tax increasing in June the outlook for those using taxis is rather bleak. Almost 15 million commuters daily use the local tax services to travel to and from work. Public transport is limited in the parts where the workers live plus the taxi services are so powerful public transport will never happen.
Over the last week the taxi fares have increased between R2 and R7.50 per trip which is bad enough especially for those using two taxis each way due to where they are working. These increases represent a direct impact on the wages as transport is accounting for a high percentage of the take home pay each month.
I spoke with my domestic today who has been working with us for the last 10 years and the increases have lost 10% of her take home pay. Others are in a worse position catching multiple taxis daily and they have lost up to 25% of their pay. This is not taking into account the cost of living like electricity and food all having risen in the last month.
The poor are just getting poorer with those employing the workers also being stretched with these increases. I should be increasing my employees salary, but she has already had a decent increase this year and another one is not on the cards for now as she already earns more than the average worker.
Back in March the minimum wage was increased by an extra 5% and with the way the economy is currently there is going to be no extra increases to cover the increased commuting fares. The problem is the unofficial unemployment rate is between 58.5% - 69.3% which the Government site Stats SA agrees with, but will officially tell you 31.9%.
The scary part is with even more fuel increases being announced for later this month and next month at what point is working not viable anymore? If your pay was already accounting for 25% of your salary before these increases and is now over 50% being lost at what point do you stop working due to the costs of travelling?
Employers are being hit with more taxes such as the new BEE tax where companies have to pay 3% of net profit to the BEE fund or face fines. many businesses are already stretched and the 3% could mean the difference of keeping or letting go of a number of workers. I would guess each company will let some go and that is the harsh reality of a government making decisions not understanding how businesses are run.
Skills are important because the average salary for a skilled employer is around R26000 monthly ($1.6K), semi skilled R6500 ($400) and no or little skills R3300 ($200). the majority of the work force lies somewhere in between the semi or no skills range and where the problem lies. When you are earning so little an extra $50 per month on transport increases is significant when you are already spending $50.
