The Motor Industry Bargaining Council (MIBCO) has published its wage tables for the 2024/2025 financial year, detailing the minimum wage petrol attendants must be paid.
The tables show that, from September 2024 onwards, the minimum wage for service station forecourt attendants in South Africa will be R43.61 per hour, equating to R1,962.45 per week.
However, it should be noted that this is the lowest salary petrol attendants are entitled to, as they could earn more depending on factors such as how long they’ve been working at the station, their employer’s rules and regulations, and tips received from customers.
The table below shows what various individuals working in the service station industry will earn from September 2024:
Employee | Hourly wages | Weekly wages |
---|---|---|
Parking garage attendant | R27.58 | R1,241.10 |
Cashier | R43.15 | R1,941.75 |
Forecourt attendant | R43.61 | R1,962.45 |
Pump attendants play a vital role in South Africa. Apart from filling up vehicles with fuel, they perform tasks such as cleaning windscreens, inflating tyres, fixing punctured wheels, and checking oil and water levels on behalf of the drivers.
Petrol stations are also significant employers in the country.
Economic research institution Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies estimates that in excess of 140,000 people are currently employed in the forecourt sector.
Gauteng is home to roughly 33% of petrol station jobs, followed by KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape, which together account for another 33%.
Petrol price warning
The wage increases for petrol station employees will come into effect in September and will likely necessitate an adjustment to retail margins accounted for in the price of fuels.
In the past, the wage hikes have contributed around 5-5.7c/litre to the cost of petrol and diesel in the country.
These alterations must first be signed off by the Department of Mineral and Resources Energy (DMRE), and MIBCO will send a circular to the industry should the retail margin increase to advise on the effective date for Sector-5 wage increases.
An upcoming review of the current fuel price calculation may impact these retail margins.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently declared that government would examine the current fuel price calculation in an effort to bring relief to the nation’s financially burdened citizens.
“As the Government of National Unity, we will look to expand the basket of essential food items exempt from VAT and undertake a comprehensive review of administered prices, including the fuel price formula, to identify areas where prices can be reduced,” said the president.
In 2022, the DMRE indicated that industry margins would be part of this review.
While it is unlikely that government will have completed the process by the time the current wage hikes take effect in September, there remains a possibility that from next year onwards, pump attendant salary increases will have a smaller effect on fuel prices than in the past.
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