Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant is set to announce the much-awaited new sectoral determination for the farming sector in Pretoria on Monday February 4 , an announcement that could bring finality to the issue that has dominated industrial relations in the past few weeks.
The minimum wage determination, which is set to kick off on March 1, comes against the backdrop of violent strikes, particularly in the Western Cape areas of De Doorns, as thousands of farmworkers pursued their demand for a wage rise of R150 per day from the current R69.
The minister’s announcement follows public hearings that were held across the country attended by farmers, trade unions as well as farmworkers at which very diverse views were expressed. While labour and farmworkers stuck to their demand and said employers can afford the increase, business and its representative body, AgriSA, insisted that the demands were “unsustainable and will put workers out of job.’’
Her announcement was preceded by a taxing process by the Employment Conditions Commission (ECC) – a body that advises her on wages and conditions of employment - which collated all the inputs from stakeholders before making a recommendation to Oliphant.
The briefing is set to start at 2pm at the GCIS offices with a video link to Cape Town's Imbizo Centre.
Enquiries: Musa Zondi
Ministerial Spokesperson
Cell: 082 901 8081
