Education about rights the best way to eliminate exploitation in sector, writes Margaret Harris

Education about their rights will help to improve the lot of farm workers. The minimum wage for farm workers is prescribed in terms of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), and minister of agriculture Tina Joemat-Pettersson has promised to review the R1300 minimum monthly wage.

The act states an employer must keep a copy of the minimum wage determination for the relevant sector and copies must be made available to employees for inspection. However, there are still cases of farm workers earning below the enactment of a minimum wage.

However, Anastasia Vatalidis, a director at Werksmans Attorneys, said "This debate will unfortunately continue long into the future."

"However, often when these statements are made, those making them are not fully aware of their employment rights. The sectoral determination was promulgated specifically because the Department of Labour recognised the vulnerability of farmworkers," she added.

"'They often work in remote areas and have very little access to information regarding their rights."

The best way to address this was through education, Vatalidis said. "Education on the sectoral determination is key. For the legislation to improve their lives, the farm workers must be made aware of their rights.

"Traditionally the responsibility for educating employees in their rights and assisting them to enforce their rights falls to trade unions.

"Unfortunately, there are not that many trade unions operating in the rural areas. Arguably, this responsibility should now fall on the Department of Labour," she said.

Vatalidis said a lack of understanding of what the law allows employers and employees to do can "equally lead to mistrust and suspicion".

She added: "For example, an employer may be perfectly entitled to take a particular position but due to a lack of understanding of our laws, the farm workers may interpret the employer's actions as unfair. Also, a lack of knowledge may allow unlawful conduct to continue, thereby perpetuating the problem.

"Perhaps the time has come for employers to become knowledgeable on subjects such as the BCEA and the sectoral determination and to assist their employees to do the same. That may go a long way to building a more amicable relationship in the farming industry."

There have not been many cases of farm workers taking employers to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).

"The shortage of cases referred to the CCMA and to court by farmworkers speaks more to this group's lack of knowledge about the enforcement of their rights than to a lack of disputes in the farming industry," Vatalidis said. Despite complaints from employers across many sectors of the economy about the onerous nature of South Africa's labour legislation and that it discourages employment, Vatalidis said the country's employment laws are similar to European legislation.

"There are a few ways in which our local laws can be amended to assist employers, particularly in the case of probationary employees.

"Other than that, as long as employers understand what they need to do I don't see why the current legislation cannot provide both employers and employees with a win-win solution."

Desmond Hyman, a farmer in the Middelburg area of Mpumalanga, said his workers were already earning more than the minimum wage when the legislation was passed because he had to compete with the neighbouring coal mines for labour.

Other issues include a diminishing labour force; a lack of skills - "You can't get a tractor driver" - and HIV.