Cape Town - No sooner had Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi announced a R1.50 increase in the national minimum wage (NMW) for farmworkers, than the farming organisation Agri SA issued a statement saying it feared that the increase would affect profits.
Minister Nxesi announced that the NMW for each ordinary hour worked had been increased from R21.69 to R23.19 for the year 2022 and that this would be effected from March 1. The increase also includes domestic workers.
Following the announcement, Agri SA executive director Christo van der Rheede said it was vital to stress that the alleviation of poverty does not solely rely on the increase in wages but should be designed in a way to supplement and reinforce other social and employment policies.
“Without an enabling environment for farms and farming businesses to remain sustainable and profitable, we run the risk of increasing unemployment and food insecurity.”
He said they appreciated the important balance maintained by the minister in ensuring workers were earning a wage that contributes to the alleviation of poverty, reduction of wage differentials and inequality in South Africa.
However, he said South African farmers did not enjoy the production support that their counterparts in the US and Europe enjoy and that the likelihood of farmers operating at a loss was becoming more evident every day.
Support Centre for Land Change programme lead for farmworkers Ricardo Phetha said the increase was reasonable, but that he did not believe Agri SA would support wage increases.
“For them it’s all about profits and not the labourers.”
He said farm workers had suffered serious exploitation during the Covid-19 pandemic especially during the hard lockdown despite being labelled essential workers.
Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said the increases to the national minimum wage will improve the lives of 800 000 farmworkers.
“These are positive developments for farmworkers who were earning R18 an hour in 2019.”
He said extensive research undertaken by the National Minimum Wage Commission had shown that few job losses had resulted from the introduction of a national minimum wage.
“In fact it has helped to reduce poverty and inequality levels and stimulated local economic growth."
ANC provincial Agriculture spokesperson Pat Marran said that as Agri-SA represents the employers it would not have the interests of workers at heart.
“Any amount, whatever it is will be too much for this organisation.”
However he said that many farmers will comply with the new minimum wage and there are some who pay even more.
“We want to encourage those who do not comply, to pay workers what they are worth as per legislation. Workers don't have luxuries like pension funds or medical aids, at least pay them a decent wage.”
Agriculture standing committee member Peter Marais (Freedom Front Plus) said while he supports a decent salary for farm workers, there should be a healthy balance between minimum wages and productivity levels.
He said the answer lay in the government increasing subsidies in terms of housing provision to farm workers.
“Agricultural villages may be the answer. If farmers are required to provide housing, water and free electricity to farm workers, there should be a negotiated trade off.
"Poverty eradication should become a fiscal responsibility and not a direct tax on businesses.”