This is how much retail bosses in South Africa earn compared to their workers

The average CEO in South Africa’s wholesale and retail sector earns 597 times what the lowest-paid worker earns, according to Just Share’s newest report on the top 40 companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. 

The report on vertical Wage Gap Disclosure Practices in the JSE Top 40 studied data from 15 of South Africa’s top companies, the only ones that disclosed their vertical wage gap ratios.

This ratio compares the remuneration of the highest and lowest-paid employees during the 2024 reporting period. 

The company with the widest reported vertical wage gap was Investec Limited, with the top earners making over 34 times the wage of the lowest-paid workers. 

South Africa has one of the most unequal societies in the world, with the richest 10% of the country capturing 65% of national income. 

South Africa’s executives are extremely overpaid, according to the report, and a lack of transparency and accountability in reporting makes it difficult for stakeholders to interrogate this compensation. 

The lowest disclosed minimum wage was reported by Shoprite Holdings Limited, with the lowest-paid workers earning R71,674 per annum, or R5,972 per month before deductions.

“This is significantly lower than the minimum ‘living wage’ recommended by the Living Wage South Africa Network of R12,00 to R15,000 per month,” the researchers highlighted. 

The living wage is the level of pay that enables families to maintain a decent standard of living, including the ability to afford essential needs such as food, housing, healthcare, education, transport, and clothing. 

This amount was deciphered in 2022, and with adjustments for inflation, the present-day equivalent would be higher still.

Shoprite CEO Pieter Engelbrecht, on the other hand, is the highest-paid retail CEO in the country, disclosing that he earned over R83 million in 2024, a R20 million increase from his earnings in 2023. 

The company did not disclose its vertical wage gap in its annual report, and was therefore not included in the Just Share report’s wage gap comparison.

The retail sector was the most unequal industry of the companies included in the report, while the lowest-paid workers in the mining and financial sectors appeared to be earning closer to a living wage. 

Woolworths was found to be paying its lowest-paid workers below a living wage, with annual remuneration of  R99,450.

Researchers credited this to higher skill-level requirements in the financial sector and strong union representation, and a history of collective bargaining in the mining sector. 

Retailers trap employees in poverty

While the researchers praised Shoprite for its transparency, they warned against using this disclosure as a “box-ticking exercise” with no commitment to transformation. 

Paying employees a wage below the “living wage” contributes to trapping people in poverty and stunting the country’s economic growth. 

These employers enable survival, but contribute towards “poverty enslavement”, according to researchers.

South Africa’s statutory minimum wage is R5,614 per month, just under R67,368 a year. “While employers may choose to pay a living wage, there is no legal requirement to do so, whereas compliance with the minimum wage is legally binding,” the report reads.

Minimum wage earners in South Africa are often unable to meet both their regular monthly expenses and the additional costs associated with unforeseen events such as funerals or illnesses. 

Based on the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group’s Household Affordability Index released on 27 August, the basic nutritional food index for a family of four is R3,699.35.

The average South African household of four is supported by one breadwinner. The Index adds that transport to work using a taxi is R1,680.00, and prepaid electricity for the month amounts to R1,181.85.

Basic household expenses then come to R6 561. The Shoprite salary of R5,972 per month would therefore result in underspending on food, negatively impacting health and nutrition.