The National Minimum Wage will be R20 per hour from May 2018, after parties at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) came to an agreement this week, Business Day reported on Tuesday.
A National Minimum Wage Commission has reportedly also been established to review the minimum wage annually.
According to the report, a draft document of the Nedlac agreement says the minimum wage's potential impact on unemployment will be assessed after its introduction, and incentives have been suggested to help sectors who will struggle to implement it.
Business Day reported that a signing ceremony will be held in Cape Town on Tuesday, and that President Jacob Zuma is going to announce the minimum wage during his State of the Nation Address on Thursday.
The agreement commits the parties to avoid job losses which may arise, includes a "code of good practice for collective bargaining, industrial action and picketing" and measures to mitigate long strikes.
According to Business Day, this is a shift away from the blanket R3500 per month initially mooted. The R20 per hour wage could limit the number of hours employees may work per week, the paper said.