Gauteng Smallholder December/ January 2018 | Page 8

NEWS
Farm sector braces for 16+% wage hike
F
armers paying their
workers at the current
Sectoral Determination
rate face the prospect of two
wage increases, totalling
16,32% next year if they are
to remain within the bounds
of the law.
The first increase kicks in on 1
March when the next raise in
the current sectoral determi-
nation scheme becomes
applicable.
This raises the minimum
hourly wage to R16.92 (and
weekly and monthly rates
accordingly).
The second increase kicks in
two months later when the
proposed national minimum
wage of R3 500 monthly
becomes law. In the case of
farm workers this will
aggregate an increase of a
further 8,35% to R18-00 per
hour.
The question of minimum
wages for farm workers is
hotly debatable because of
the vast difference in total
emoluments received by
workers, which may include
free or subsidised food,
housing, transport and
education etc, as well as other
benefits on farms owned and
run by enlightened farmers.
Rainfall: A dry summer ahead
A
lthough October's total
rainfall in Gauteng was
higher than the that of
the same month in last year's
super-wet summer, the total
rainfall in September, and to
the middle of November, was
considerably less than for the
same periods last year.
Thus, you would be correct if
you concluded that
Gautengers are in for a drier
season this year.
This observation is borne out
by weather scientists who are
observing a mild La Nina
effect in the central and
southern Pacific Ocean
which, trends show, lead to
drier weather in the southern
hemisphere generally.
A La Nina effect is declared
when ocean surface tempera-
tures in the Pacific are higher
than normal, which, in
association with other trends
in wind and currents, affect
the uptake of moisture into
the atmosphere and thus
precipitation across the globe,
particularly over South
America, southern and central
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Africa and Australasia.
The opposite effect is an El
Nino, when ocean surface
temperatures are lower than
average, and result in higher
than normal rainfall.