Committee on labour values input from farmworkers
Input from farmworkers will be taken into account when a decision to implement the national minimum wage or not is made, the Committee on Labour has said.
The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Labour, Ms Lumka Yengeni, has assured people of Ga-Kgapane in Limpopo, where the Committee is conducting the public hearings that their views were valuable.
“The Committee is here in order to get advices on how the national minimum wage should be implemented in the country,” Ms Yengeni said.
Following President Jacob Zuma’s call that the viability of national minimum wage be investigated in the country, the Committee has visited seven provinces soliciting the views of the workers.
Ms Yengeni said the Committee hoped to get views from the farming sector, especially that it is the most challenged sector when it comes to wages.
“The Committee is aware that conditions in farms are appalling. And people earned far less than what they should be getting given the amount of hours they put in,” Ms Yengeni said.
She said the Committee could not go ahead and leave people behind on such an important matter as the national minimum wage. “We will take into consideration all the input with regards to the kind of minimum wage that will be acceptable to all in the country,” she said.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact:
Sibongile Maputi (Mr)
Parliamentary Communication Services
Tel: 021 403 8041
Cell: 081 052 6060
E-mail: smaputi@parliament.gov.za
