Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the Council -
1) notes with concern that 300 farm workers in Mpumalanga have lost their jobs because their employers have allegedly told them that they cannot afford to pay them the minimum wage of R105 a day set by government in the regulations relating to minimum wages for farm workers that came into operation on 1 March 2013;
2) further notes that some of these workers were paid only R69 a day, while others were paid as little as R57 a day despite the minimum wage for farm workers set by the minimum wage regulations;
3) also notes that when these workers enquired from their employers why they were not being paid the minimum wage, as required by law, their employers told them that they could not afford it and fired them; and
4) takes this opportunity to call on the Ministers of Labour and of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to launch an urgent investigation into this matter and to intervene appropriately, if necessary.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.