NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION 403
THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT:
- The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) is aware of the possible inadvertent impact that the 16,1% wage increase will have on the agricultural sector given the dire economic predicament the country is experiencing. Correspondingly, the Department is also mindful of the escalating living expenses which is the major driver necessitating annual adjustments in the minimum wage, considering low wage levels of ordinary South African workers, including farmworkers. However, Government cannot turn a blind eye to the dire effect the current economic situation has had on businesses. To this effect, Chapter four of the National Minimum Wage Act has made provision for a state where an employer or an employers’ organisation registered in terms of section 96 of the Labour Relations Act, or any other law, acting on behalf of a member, may, in the prescribed form and manner, apply for an exemption from paying the national minimum wage.
- (a) No - The process of consultations was made by the Department of Labour and Employment.
- No.
- No.
- No.
(3) No. However, the Minister will be consulting the relevant and affected structures in the endeavour to devise on intervention(s) to mitigate job losses within the agricultural sector.