“TLU SA can’t help but wonder if the absurd increase in the minimum wage isn’t just another action plan by the ANC to garner votes for the upcoming elections,” says Bennie van Zyl, general manager of TLU SA.
This response follows the announcement earlier today that the minimum wage will increase from the current R23,18 to R25,42 per hour for workers (including domestic and farm workers) starting from 1 March. This is an increase of almost 9,7%.
Van Zyl continues by saying that, given the pace at which ministers are appointed, there might be a need to appoint a minister of unemployment one of these days. “Soon such a minister will represent the majority of the population as businesses, including farms, cannot afford such a ridiculous increase within the current economic conditions of the country. Does the government not understand that it is better for an unskilled worker to work for R20 per hour than to have no job at all? The government actually encourages unemployment with this increase, and to top it up they keep on paying those who are unemployed an inflation-increased social grant, as stated in the recent State of the Nation Address.”
TLU SA strongly believes that the increase in the minimum wage is a blatant exploitation of the employer. “The agreed-upon norm of inflation rate plus 1%, which calculates to about 8%, was already almost unattainable for farmers. It is clear that the government’s word is not worth the paper it’s written on when it comes to their so-called agreements. The government has completely lost touch with reality. They can no longer be allowed to stumble on and just destroy everything.”
In a healthy economic environment, prices are determined according to supply and demand. “It should be the responsibility of farmers to determine the salary they can afford to pay. Workers can then decide whether to accept it or not. If it is unacceptable to them, they should seek other options.”
TLU SA suggests that the current minimum wage plus 3% should be the norm. “Along with a minimum wage comes a minimum education. This fixed rate cannot be paid to individuals who have not received a minimum education who cannot take responsibility, can it? To just give in to this one-sided decision again, less than 60 days before its implementation date, is absurd.”
Photo by Josh Appel on Unsplash
