TMG Digital reports that Agri SA said on Friday that the announcement last week regarding the introduction of a national minimum wage (NMW) brought certainty for agriculture about remuneration levels that will be payable in the next year.
Last Wednesday‚ parties in Nedlac (excluding Cosatu) signed an agreement on a NMW, which will be R20 an hour or R3,500 a month for a 40-hour week and which will take effect from no later than May next year. But, farm workers will initially be paid 90% of the NMW, which equates to R18 an hour. Agri SA indicated that from March this year‚ agriculture will start increasing its pay to R15.39 an hour‚ which equates to R3,001 a month, ahead of next year’s May roll-out. Neil Hamman‚ who chairs Agri SA’s labour committee‚ said that farmers who were still unable to afford the increase‚ could apply for a section variation and that there would be an opportunity to apply for the variation before the NMW comes into effect.
- Read this report by Ernest Mabuza in full at BusinessLive
- Read Agri SA’s press statement in this regard at Polity
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page