As pay gap rules loom, companies like Woolworths, Barloworld say a 'just wage' is good business

In September 2021, Woolworths announced it would invest an additional R120 million to increase the minimum wage of its store workers.

The "just wage", as Woolworths calls its minimum wage initiative, has become a critical debate in SA as shareholder activists increasingly scrutinise income differentials between the highest and lowest paid worker in big corporates.

It's also a hot topic amid the rising cost of living and skyrocketing fuel prices, especially as the cost of getting to work is taking a bigger share of low-income earners' take-home pay. Many companies – some sparred by the proposed Wage Ratio Report in the Companies Act Amendment Bill – are starting to think deeper about their lowest wages.