South African Minister of Labour Membathisi Mdladlana has warned farmers not to threaten their workers with retrenchment in the wake of the severe drought that has negatively affected the farming sector in most parts of the country.
Speaking to more than 600 farm workers in Groblersdal in the Limpopo province at the weekend, Mdladlana said he was aware “of such threats and also some inopportune utterances allegedly made by certain farmers who referred aggrieved workers to President Thabo Mbeki”.
He said farmers — like all employers — are bound by Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act, which clearly states “that every employer should first go through a consultation process before retrenching any workers”.
“The law does not allow farmers to retrench workers at their whim and this fact is clearly spelled out in the Labour Relations Act.
“As government we have made provisions for relief funds to aid farmers who are struggling to make ends meet due to the drought situation, and [the] majority of farmers are already accessing those funds.
“Those farmers that are alleged to be insulting our President, Thabo Mbeki, should refrain from doing so. Bargaining issues should be dealt with without insults,” the minister said.
Farm workers also complained to the minister of, among other things, working long shifts of up to 12 hours a day, harassment by farmers, employment of illegal immigrants for cheap labour and racial discrimination.
The minister assured workers that it is illegal for farmers to employ illegal immigrants without legitimate working permits.
“Any farmer employing illegal immigrants is in violation of the South African law and therefore it is a criminal offence. I therefore wish to urge workers to report any incidents of malpractice by farmers to the Department of Labour offices,” he said.
But according to a ministry statement, Mdladlana was also upbeat about the level of compliance on the implementation of the sectoral determination for minimum wages and other conditions of employment by farmers in the area.
“I am pleased that the majority of farmers are complying with minimum wage as set by the law and some are even paying above the set minimum wage. This is a clear indication that we are dealing with a just small percentage of employers who refuse to respect the rule of law.
“But let those few unscrupulous employers know that as the African National Congress government we will not rest until workers in this country, especially vulnerable workers such as farm workers, are protected,” concluded the minister. — I-Net Bridge