Wages and Living in South Africa.
The correspondent of the "Express," writing on 25th June last, tabulated, after careful inquiry, the rates of wages and the supply and demand then prevailing at Durban, Maritzburg, Capetown, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, and Pretoria. The lower rates are coastal, the higher rates are for the Transvaal and places difficult of access. When nothing is specified a month is the period for which the rate is paid. They may be taken as fair averages: — Bakers—'Small! demand. £9 to £14. Barmaids—Good demand. £4 to £10. Barmen—No demand. Blacksmiths—ln demand. 10s to 12s 6d per day. Bricklayers—ln demand. 14s to 20s per day. Butchers —No demand. Loav wages. Carpenters—lzi demand. 13s 8d to 18s per -day. Chemists (qualified)—-Demand. £14 to £20 Coach-2>ainterS—Fail*. 14s to 20s ,per day. Coach-trimmers—Fair. 14 s to 20s per day. Commercial Travellers—No demand. Cooks—No demand. Drapers—ln demand. £10 to £18. Dressmakers, Milliners, saleswomen—ln demand. £12 to £20. Engineers—Small demand. Farm-hands—No demard. Kaffir labour Fitters—Moderate demand. 10s to 12s 6d per day. Grocers—No demand. Hairdressers—ln demand. £14 to £20 House-painters—Fair. 13s to 15s per day. Jewellers (watchmakers) —In' demand £14 to £?5 per month. Jobbing CornpoVitru-K—Fair demand. £2 10s to £3 los per week. Miners—Fjijt demand. Wages falling. Papferhangers—Small. 10s to ]4s par day. Plumbers—Moderate. 12s 6d to los per day. Railway-men—Little demand. Wages miserable< Servants ((domestic) —Good demand. £3 i to £4 per month. Sign-writers—Fair. 16s to ?0s per day. Solicitors—No demand. Stenographers and tvpistss—Good de mand. £12 to £20. Stone-masons—No demand. Tailors—ln demand. Trousers, 6s 9d; Jackets 17s 6d. Typ.ists--=Goed demand. £10 to £14. Waiters —No demand. Waitresses —Good demand. £4 to £5. Youths, office-boys, junior clerks—in demand. £6 to £12. It is necessary to remember, when scrutinising the foregoing list, that the rush to Africa has already set in; that people are crowding at the coast; that the supply of labour of all sorts is rapidly over-reaching i tho demand; that a decline in wages is inevitable ; and that the cost of living continues to increase.
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Bibliographic details
Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXXXVII, Issue 11733, 10 September 1902, Page 2
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336Wages and Living in South Africa. Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXXXVII, Issue 11733, 10 September 1902, Page 2
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