After a week hiatus, the Department of Labour (DoL) is to resume the farmworkers minimum wage review public hearings, part of a push to quell violent strikes in the farming sector.
The latest round of public hearings will resume on Thursday (December 6) at 10h00 in Makhado Municipal Showground in Limpopo for both employers and employees. The hearings are expected to have an impact on the present sectoral determination (SD) for thousands of farm workers.
The Department of Labour decided to bring forward the consultative process for the review to help quell the deteriorating situation in the farms that is threatening to spiral nationally. This, after several hundreds of workers from De Doorns, Western Cape downed tools, embarking on a two-week violent industrial action. The workers are demanding a daily rate of R150 a day.
The employment of farm workers is governed by legislation which set the determination of conditions of employment. The sectoral determination deals with matters relating to minimum wages, number of leave days, working hours and termination rules among others.
In terms of section 56(1) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), it is stipulated that the provisions of sectoral determination remain binding until they are amended or suspended by a new or amended SD, or they are cancelled or suspended by the Minister.
In terms of the same law the Minister can only review the sectoral determination once it has been in place for a period of at least 12 months. The current determination is binding until the end of February 2013.
The first in a series of national public hearings kicked-off on 22 November in Worcester, Western Cape for both employers and employees. Another double-header for both employers and employees was held at the Boston Area in KwaZulu-Natal.
Through the hearings the department would collate information to answer the key questions - that of the ability of employers to afford the high wages and their effects on business.
Once the public hearings have been concluded, the Employment Conditions Commission (ECC) - a body composed of government representatives, labour unions, and employers - advises the minister on wages and other conditions of employment - will compile a document and make recommendations.
On December 8 the hearings are set to start 10h00 for both employers and employees at Bothaville, at Cawood Hall in the Free State Province.
The hearings will then proceed to Ottodsdal’s Witfontein Matlhapi in the North West on December 9-10, for both employees and employers respectively. Both hearings will kick-off at 10h00.
On December 11 a joint public hearing for both employer and employees will be held at 18:00 at Keimoes City Hall in the Northern Cape. On December 12 another joint hearing for both employers and employees will be held in KwaMhlushwa, Mpumalanga Province at a venue yet-to-be-confirmed.
The hearings will conclude on December 13 at 18h00, with simultaneous presentations in both Barkly East Town Hall, next to Aliwal North in the Eastern Cape and at Bronkhorstspruit, respectively, at Tshwane sports centre, Church Street, Bronkhorstpruit in Gauteng.
For more information contact:
Page Boikanyo
Cell: 082 809 3195
