Minister of Labour's statement fuels strike possibilities!

COSATU is very disappointed at the statement from the Minister of Labour today, where she announces that "it would be impossible to find agreement in the farm worker dispute negotiations before 4 December 2012"!

This statement completely undermines the negotiations between AgriSA and the unions.

The Minister has a responsibility to increase the wages through the Sectoral Determination and we are aware that this takes time.

The Minister also has a responsibility to promote and encourage negotiations between the parties to find solutions to avert strike action - In this case negotiations between AgriSA and the Unions are ongoing, and, should they find agreement, that agreement will definitely prevent a farm workers strike on 4 December 2012.

The Minister should be supporting this process! But, in her statement it sounds more like the Minister of Farmers, instead of the Minister of Labour! She also misses the point that the whole country is in agreement that R69.00 per day is slave wages and should be increased immediately.

Since the Minister of Labour's return from Geneva she has made no effort to make contact with Labour unions to broker and encourage a solution to this crisis.

COSATU calls on the Minister to respond to her obligations and to assist in the negotiations between AgriSA and the Unions, under the auspices of the CCMA, to find an urgent solution.

This strike, called by the workers and set for 4 December 2012, can set back Labour Relations on Farms by decades and could see a reversal to the low-level civil war we all witnessed on farms a few weeks ago. The entire country saw the desperation and anger of the workers against these low wages. The country is also aware that the farmers are amassing a private army to act against the workers - come 4 December 2012!

Such protest actions has real dangers of violence and death, as we have already seen - with one worker being killed by these private securities! And the best the Minister of Labour can do is wash her hands of the situation, instead of providing the necessary leadership and urgency to this challenge!

COSATU accordingly calls on the Minister of Labour to urgently step up and lead the way to avert further potential dangerous actions in the South African farming communities.

Statement issued COSATU Western Cape Provincial Secretary, Tony Ehrenreich, November 27 2012

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