I have today written to President Zuma to request him to require that Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant intervene in the wage dispute in De Doorns and bring together the relevant stakeholders to begin negotiations towards establishing a new minimum wage level for farm workers. (Please see letter below).
The consequences of the current crisis in the Hex River Valley will be very severe for the Western Cape and South Africa as a whole if they are not immediately addressed.
I am also calling on President Zuma to require that COSATU enters the discussions in good faith and ends its incitement and intimidation.
This matter can only be resolved through Minister Oliphant taking this urgent step.
Text of letter from Western Cape Premier Helen Zille to President Jacob Zuma, November 13 2012:
13 November 2012