AgriSA labour expert Elize van der Westhuizen told Farmer’s Weekly the decline in the agriculture sector’s work force was a result of the minimum wage for farm workers which increased by 6,4% on 1 March this year.
Employers who could not afford the higher wages started laying off workers and increasing mechanisation, said Van der Westhuizen.
According to Van der Westhuizen, government’s current labour environment and legislation were prohibitive and created uncertainty. Referring to concerns over the enactment of the Labour Relations Amendment Bill in its current form, she said it would become difficult for businesses across the board to hire workers.
