NBCRFLI Wage Table 2026/27: Minimum Rates for Truck Drivers

From 1 March 2026 the legal minimum for a heavy or extra-heavy motor vehicle driver in South Africa’s road freight industry is R3,383.37 per week — about R14,661 a month. An ultra-heavy driver earns at least R4,031.63 a week and an abnormal load driver R4,909.20. These are minimums set by the National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight and Logistics Industry, and they run until 28 February 2027.

Below is the full table for every grade, exactly as the council published it, together with the allowances that sit on top of the wage. If you are checking whether you are being paid legally, the grade that matters is the one matching the vehicle you actually drive.

NBCRFLI minimum wages, 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027

Grade	Patterson	Job classes	Week to 28 Feb 2026	From 1 Mar 2026	Monthly equivalent
1	A Band	General worker · General worker (repair shop) · Packer/Loader grade I · Security guard	R2,142.27	R2,270.81	R9,840.18
2	B1	Motorcycle/motor tricycle driver · Light motor vehicle driver · Checker grade I · Loader operator grade II · Mobile hoist operator grade II · Packer/Loader grade II	R2,353.80	R2,495.03	R10,811.80
3	B1/B2	Medium motor vehicle driver (articulated) · Medium motor vehicle driver (rigid) · Artisan assistant · Gantry crane operator grades I & II · Mobile hoist operator grade I · Checker grade II · Loader operator grade I · Storeman (workshop) · Team leader	R2,845.37	R3,016.09	R13,069.72
4	B3	Heavy motor vehicle driver (articulated) · Heavy motor vehicle driver (rigid) · Extra-heavy motor vehicle driver (articulated) · Extra-heavy motor vehicle driver (rigid) · Dispatch clerk	R3,191.86	R3,383.37	R14,661.27
5	B4	Ultra-heavy motor vehicle driver · Semi-skilled artisan · Storeman (warehouse) · Basic rigger driver	R3,803.42	R4,031.63	R17,470.40
6	C1	Abnormal load driver	R4,631.32	R4,909.20	R21,273.20
6	—	Petroleum tanker driver	R3,879.87	R4,112.66	R17,821.53

Which grade is your vehicle?

The council grades by vehicle class rather than by licence code, which is where most confusion starts. A Code 14 licence lets you drive an extra-heavy vehicle, but your wage grade follows the vehicle you are put on, not the licence in your pocket.

• Grade 2 — light motor vehicle. Small delivery vehicles and motorcycles.
• Grade 3 — medium motor vehicle, rigid or articulated.
• Grade 4 — heavy and extra-heavy motor vehicle, rigid or articulated. This is the grade most long-haul drivers fall into, and it is the number most people are looking for.
• Grade 5 — ultra-heavy motor vehicle.
• Grade 6 — abnormal load driver at R4,909.20 a week, the highest-paid driving grade in the industry, and petroleum tanker driver at R4,112.66.

Allowances on top of the wage

These are separate from the minimum wage and are payable in addition to it, for the same period.

Allowance	1 Mar 2025 – 28 Feb 2026	From 1 Mar 2026
Night shift — more than one hour of night work	R17.67, plus R3.18 per additional hour	R18.73, plus R3.37 per additional hour
Subsistence — each period of absence inside South Africa	R63.99	R67.83
Subsistence — each of three daily meal intervals	R55.28	R58.60
Subsistence — total for absence plus three meals	R229.83	R243.63
Cross-border allowance	R127.48 per month	R135.13 per month

The 6% across-the-board increase, and the order it applies in

This is the part that trips employers up. The across-the-board increase and the minimum wage are two different things, and the sequence matters:

• A 6% across-the-board increase on actual wages is awarded to every employee in grades 1 to 6 who was employed before 1 March 2026.
• The across-the-board increase applies to current wages before the minimum is adjusted. So an employee already earning above the minimum still receives the 6% — the increase is not absorbed by the new floor.

For employees in the Extended Bargaining Unit in the Cash in Transit sector, year two is 6% up to Patterson grade B4 and 5% at grade C1, granted on actual wages.

Weekly or monthly?

The council publishes weekly rates, and the weekly figure is the legal one. The monthly column in the table above is a derivation — the weekly rate multiplied by 52 and divided by 12. You will see slightly different monthly figures quoted elsewhere because some sources multiply by 4.33 instead, which lands about R11 lower on the grade 4 rate. Where a rand matters, work from the weekly number.

What this table is, and what it is not

This is the legal floor. It is not what drivers typically earn — experienced cross-border and abnormal-load drivers are usually paid well above it, and the gap between the minimum and the market rate is where most negotiation actually happens. For what drivers are really being paid, see our guide to truck driver salaries in South Africa. This page answers a narrower question: what an employer must pay, by law, from 1 March 2026.

The council’s determination is published in the Government Gazette and applies across the general freight, furniture removal, courier and cash-in-transit sectors. Employers falling within its scope do not have the option of paying less.

Source and currency

Source: NBCRFLI industry circular, Minimum Wage Increases, Across-the-Board Increases, and Allowances (1 March 2025 – 28 February 2027), dated 12 February 2025 — Table Two A (Year Two), general freight and furniture removal sectors. Published on the NBCRFLI website.

Current as at 14 August 2026. These rates run to 28 February 2027. The next adjustment takes effect 1 March 2027 and this page will be updated when the council publishes it. If you are reading this after that date, check the council’s own wage table before relying on the figures here.

Driving for a living?

If you are looking for driving work rather than checking a rate, list yourself free on the Kweli Driver Registry — transporters search it when they need a driver, and the trips you complete stay on your record and travel with you to the next job. Operators pricing a load against these wage costs can work them into a rate on our freight rate calculators.

The wage grade follows the vehicle, not the licence. For what each licence code actually permits, see driving licence codes in South Africa.

The abnormal load driver grade sits at the top of this table. For what actually makes a load abnormal and how many escorts it needs, see abnormal load permits in South Africa.