Agriculture remains one of the sectors repeatedly showing growth when it comes to the employment of workers, despite challenges such as the minimum wage and false perceptions of the working relationship between farmers and farm workers.
StatsSA’s Labour Force Survey for the first quarter of 2023 shows that unemployment remains exceptionally high at 21,1 million people without work or actively seeking it. Agriculture, however, again showed increased employment, providing work to approximately 888 000 people.
“The agricultural sector could contribute much more to job creation in the country if not for unrealistic labour legislation,” says Bennie van Zyl, general manager of TLU SA. “The idealistic minimum wage is actually just a farce. It may make a few people’s lives in the country slightly better, but for the majority, it causes a loss of jobs. Farmers, as employers, have to be profitable to remain sustainable. When the wage bill becomes too high, other ways of ensuring sustainability must be sought, such as mechanisation, to the detriment of job creation. Agriculture’s responsibility lies in productivity.”
The growth in employment in the agricultural sector also directly contradicts false accusations about the supposed poor relationship between farmers and farm workers and statements such as those made by COSATU recently about farmers.
“Agriculture certainly has one of the best and healthiest relationships between employee and employer in any economic sector as they are so dependent on each other,” says Van Zyl. “The dilemma is that a farmer can only go so far with a wage bill before profitability is compromised. It’s not necessarily the farmer’s choice but is forced by legislation.
“If the markets regulated the minimum wage, not only the agricultural sector, but all the other sectors in South Africa could contribute much more to job creation. But now job seekers must rely on state grants – significantly lower than the minimum wage – which drains the economy and is not sustainable.”
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