Following the unrest at De Doorns, the Minister of Agriculture held a meeting with TAU SA and other agricultural unions to discuss the issue of minimum wages for agricultural employees.
TAU SA is of the opinion that no consideration can be given to minimum wages for the De Doorns area in isolation. Diversity in Agriculture and the reality of geographical areas also have to be taken in account. A minimum wage is currently in place and TAU SA’s advise to its members is not to pay workers less than the minimum wage.
In fact, if the package of fringe benefits is to be taken into account it appears that most farmers pay even more than the minimum wage.
The problems of De Doorns cannot be made the problem of the entire agricultural industry. Furthermore, TAU SA has his doubts whether the unrest at De Doorns is purely an agricultural issue. Judging by the pronouncements of the ANC leader in the Western Cape, Marius Fransman, it is clear that politics plays the predominant role. The ANC in the Western Cape wants to destabilize the province in his efforts to regain control, and as preparation for the ANC’s leadership election next month at Mangaung. “Mr. Fransman should be disciplined by his party over his statements against farmers. An apology is not even enough: he should be summarily expelled from the ruling party, as was done to Julius Malema,” says TAU SA’s president Mr Louis Meintjes.
Mr. Meintjes said that TAU SA cannot decide on behalf of its members what to pay their workers.
It seems that the 37 000 commercial farmers in South Africa are increasingly held responsible for the socio-economic problems in the country. “This is not the work for agriculture, and the government and the responsible institutions have to find the solutions for themselves,” said Mr Meintjes.
No worker is forced to stay with an employer. “We encourage workers to seek work and to accept service where they receive the best salary.”
If minimum wages in agriculture would be increased, it will certainly lead to further dismissals. “An employer that provides for R20 000 in his monthly budget, simply cannot pay an increase to R30 000 or even R40 000 per month. He will have to rationalize. If there would be a drastic increase in the wage bill of a farmer, he will be forced to look at the productivity of the workers and he must reduce its workforce accordingly.
“Salary is the price of labor, and in a free market the laborer himself should decide on his salary. On the other hand the farmer in the position that he is a price taker who has to be satisfied by whatever he is offered for his products. If minimum wages increase due to irresponsible, illegal and even criminal behavior a point can be reached that farmers start claiming R5 000 for a ton of maize or R50 for a kilogram of tomatoes,” says Mr Meintjes. “These actions and counter actions will lead to the destruction of the economy, and TAU SA is not prepared to be part of that.
