Farmers have been told to review their business finances by Agri Eastern Cape in order to prepare for the new national minimum wage going into effect.
President Jacob Zuma announced the new wage during his 2017 State of the Nation Address (SONA) earlier this month and it will come into effect on May 1 next year.
Agri EC president Doug Stern said his organisation had a number of “serious concerns” regarding the potential effects of the new R20 hourly wage on the agricultural sector, including potential unemployment.
“As farmers, we want to create sustainable employment in our sector, which is already struggling due to the ongoing drought conditions in the Eastern Cape. Many farmers will be unable to absorb the costs of two wage increases, to get to the prescribed amount, in 2018 alone.”
“Our representatives successfully negotiated a phasing-in period for farmers, which will see them paying 90% of the agreed minimum wage for a period of two years. Agriculture has also been acknowledged as a fragile sector, which means that we will be allowed to present research demonstrating the negative impact of wage increases on our sector ahead of any proposed adjustments down the line.”
While the majority of Agri EC members were stock farmers, employing limited numbers of workers, Stern said the local citrus industry would be more seriously affected by the increases, as it relied heavily on both permanent and seasonal labour.
“Agriculture is the biggest employer of unskilled labour in the country. Unfortunately, we are not rewarded with increased productivity with every wage hike, so we will be engaging with the State on the issue of skills development, which can only benefit all South Africans in terms of food security.”
source: rnews.co.za
