Image: Boni XabaSource: FacebookA salary breakdown video posted online is stirring up strong feelings across South Africa. Facebook user Boni Xaba, a social media personality who regularly reviews payslips, shared a reel on 6 August 2026 unpacking the monthly earnings of a Grade 2 Social Worker employed in Gauteng. The Social Worker salary breakdownThe payslip showed a basic salary of R35,085.00, with a housing allowance pushing the gross total to R37,122.28. Social workers deal with child protection cases, family crises, abuse and poverty daily, and many viewers felt the pay did not come close to reflecting that reality. User @Gretchen Meyer wrote:"Non-government social workers earn way less than.