Wage hikes, strikes may hasten farm mechanisation, cut jobs
AN exorbitant increase in the minimum wage may in the short term hold political advantages for the government, but will over the long term inevitably lead to work losses and mechanisation of the agricultural sector, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Deputy Minister Dr Pieter Mulder said on Wednesday.Responding to the grape and fruit farm workers’ unprotected strike in the Western Cape, which has fuelled fears it could spread to the rest of the provinces’ wine industries, he warned that the trade unions were increasingly expecting farmers to give attention to social issues, which was in fact the government’s task.Speaking at an agriculture day in the Eastern Cape Karoo town of Willowmore, he said commercial farmers were businesspeople — who needed to make a profit — and not welfare workers.Further, he said the agricultural strikes would have far-reaching consequences for agriculture.Dr Mulder said farmers across the country were saying to him "the time has come to restrict their de...
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