/ 14 December 2012

Wine-farm workers get better salaries than reported

The average salary of previously disadvantaged employees at Solms-Delta is not R100 a day; it is R219 a day
The average salary of previously disadvantaged employees at Solms-Delta is not R100 a day; it is R219 a day

We appreciate the positive account of Solms-Delta by Glynnis Underhill (Enjoying the fruits of their labour, December 7). But the article contains a factual error that, in view of current sensitivities, we cannot leave uncorrected.

It reports that, according to our employee Johan O’Ryan, “Salaries are on average R100 a day … but the farm workers have all the other benefits and a giant share of the business”.

The average salary of previously disadvantaged employees at Solms-Delta is not R100 a day; it is R219 a day. The average vineyard worker earns R126 a day.

More pertinent than average salaries, however, is minimum salaries. The minimum wage we pay to any category of worker is R118 a day plus the “share of the business”. The second component varies, of course, and is paid through the workers’ trust.

Over the past three years, excluding the sums expended on capital improvements (new housing and so on), the average amount allocated directly to each beneficiary has been an additional R62 a day. These figures exclude bonuses, which are performance-related. – Craig MacGillivray, chief executive, Solms-Delta