FARMWORKERS are set to earn R25,42 per hour following an increase of 9.6% for domestic workers and farm labourers announced by minister of employment and labour Thulas Nxesi. The increase takes effect on March 1 but Agri SA has raised concern the increase would further strain hard-pressed farmers.
“Any increase in costs will further strain already hard-pressed farmers. As the sector battles to contain the costs associated with loadshedding, crumbling infrastructure and high input costs, this increase will further undermine food security and put much-needed jobs on the line,” the organisation’s Johan Wege said in a statement in response to the increase.
“The increase continues a trend of above-inflation increases for more than a decade. Whereas farmers were previously in a position to absorb these increases thanks to the sustained growth in a number of agricultural industries, that period is now over. The sector faces extreme headwinds, which on their own threaten food security in the coming years,” Wege said.
He said notwithstanding the challenges that the sector faces, Agri SA made a submission proposing a CPI minus 2% increase in the national minimum wage.
“This proposal recognised the financial pressure on workers in this inflationary environment, but also addressed the reality of farmers’ inability to continue to absorb above-inflation increases. That government has ignored this balanced position, is a devastating blow not only for the sector but also for the consumers who will eventually see this increase reflected in their food expenditure.”
Nxesi said the increase will benefit 892 000 domestic workers who are overwhelmingly women, and 800 000 farmworkers.
He said “these workers are generally unorganized and vulnerable, and without the introduction of the National Minimum Wage Act, they would have continued to endure exceedingly low wage levels and poverty.”
The department said the increase will also cover workers employed in the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), Learnership allowances, the cleaning sector and wholesale and retail.
The percentage increase for farmworkers and domestic workers will translate to R25,42 per hour, whilst the EPWP will be R13,97 for the same duration.The cleaning sector in the metropolitan areas will enjoy R27,97 and the rest of the country is R25,50.
Trade union federation Cosatu said last month after noting the National Minimum Wage Commission’s recommendation for a CPI plus 2% increase for this financial year that workers in the farm, domestic, construction, retail, hospitality, transport, security, and cleaning services sectors will benefit the most.
“It is important to make ensure that the NMW is not eroded by inflation because this will plunge many workers deeper into debt, poverty, and despair,” the federation’s national spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said.
He said Cosatu is pleased with the progress that has been made with the NMW since it came into effect in 2019.
“We have raised it from R20, and it will soon pass R26 an hour. It has seen domestic workers rise from R15 and farm workers R18 in 2019 to being equalised with the NMW today. This is a far cry from the slave wages farm and domestic workers were paid a few years ago, at times as little as R6 an hour.”
However Agri SA said it will continue to engage government on the critical challenges facing the sector.
“Agri SA’s hope is that its warnings will be heeded in future, so that farmers, workers, and consumers don’t pay the price for policy that undermines the sustainability of the sector and the nation’s food security.” – news@mukurukuru.co.za
