“The implementation of a national minimum wage will in all probability result in increased mechanisation and consolidation of farming concerns which will obviously result in job losses,” said Jacobus Stroebel, FSA’s legal representative in a statement
Meanwhile, Katishi Masemola, general secretary of the Food and Allied Workers’ Union, said the union wanted to see a monthly national minimum wage of between R4 300 and R4 700. He said government should put subsidisation measures in place to ensure the long-term sustainability and profitability of farming so that farmers can afford the proposed minimum wage and to prevent large scale job losses.
Prof Johan Willemse, an agricultural economist at the University of the Free State, said that smaller farming enterprises won’t be able to afford the exorbitant wages such as the R8 000/month advocated by Cosatu and will be left with no choice but to drastically decrease the work force.
