The department of labour said the wage increases were determined using the Consumer Price Index and 1.5 percent which pegged the wage increase to 6.4 percent
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) says the department of labour’s move to increase farm workers’ wages by 6.4 percent pays lip service to the need to pay disenfranchised farm workers a decent salary.
The labour department announced this week that wages of vulnerable workers in the farm sector will be adjusted with effect from March 1 2014. The sectoral determination for farm workers requires that the minimum wages of the farm workers be adjusted from monthly wage of R2 274.82 to R2 420.41.
“The salary of R2 420.41 a month is still not a living wage that can feed a family. The 2013 report of the Employment Conditions Commission stated that even at a much higher wage of R150 a day, and that large numbers of farm workers households would not have a sufficient income to meet their basic needs,” said Cosatu in a statement.
The sectoral determination covers the protection of workers in vulnerable areas of work. The determination sets minimum working hours, minimum wages, number of leave days and termination rules.
Farm workers went on a protracted national strike in 2011 demanding decent working conditions and wage increase. They demanded a 50 percent increase in their wage which then was less than R150 a day.
“As we said then, the 50 percent increase was a victory for the farm workers, whose militancy and determination brought their plight into the national spotlight and forced employers and government to act to improve their wages and conditions,” said Cosatu.
COSATU’s Collective Bargaining, Organising and Campaigns Conference in March 2013 recommended that a national minimum wage figure of between R4 800 and R6 000.
The conference also established a Vulnerable Workers’ Task Team and each Cosatu union affiliate was asked to identify the groups of vulnerable workers in their sectors and to set targets for recruitment and set aside budgets.
However, Cosatu is of the view that although much good work has been done to recruit and service the most exploited and vulnerable workers, a majority of them still remain unorganised.
The federation has acknowledged that much more mobilisation work needs to be done in the three targeted sectors - domestic workers, street traders and farm workers.
The department of labour said the wage increases were determined using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and 1.5 percent which pegged the wage increase to 6.4 percent for 2014/15 financial year. The possible impact on employment levels versus minimum wage rates was also considered.
The department also conducted 2 171 inspections during the 2012/13 financial year on conditions of employment in the agriculture sector. Another inspection will be conducted next month.
Peter Foster is a citrus fruit farmer in Limpopo who has a labour force of 650 people and hires 600 seasonal employees. His concern is that the wage increase is good for his employees but weighs heavily on the sustainability of his farming business.
“It is obvious that this will have a bigger effect on farmers. It is not only the 6.4 percent on the paper but there also other real costs. These costs include electricity, water and sanitation. We also have needs such as fertilisers for our soil, and equipment maintenance. Some of these things increase yearly,” explained Foster.
Foster has 200 employees staying on his farm with their families. He pays for their electricity and water and provides free accommodation for them.
“This has a serious implication on the jobs you are able to provide. I am trying my best not to lay-off any of my employees.”
In South Africa there are an estimated 35 000 large scale commercial farmers. These farmers are mostly white with an average size of 25 square kilometres. Their production is at 95 percent of all market outputs. There are approximately 200 000 black emerging farmers in the country.
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