Avenue Vine

According to Department of Labour spokesperson Zolisa Sigabi, the new minimum wages for farm workers during 2007/2008 that came into effect on 1 March 2007, entitle farm workers to a minimum wage of R1 041 per month. But the department still distinguishes between workers in urban and rural areas. "In Area A (urban) the minimum wage is R 1041, but in Area B (peri-urban/rural) the minimum wage is R989," said Sigabi in a statement on the Department of Labour’s website. These wages can be paid hourly as well. "At that rate these urban workers are generally paid under R50 per day," says Shabodien. "They are paid per day or per crate, in the wine or fruit industries."

Women on Farms Project have pushed for fine-tuning of the system. "The department’s distinction between area A and area B didn’t make any sense as it’s based on municipality classification and in some areas the borders were quite arbitrary. The problem is that Area B tends to be the more impoverished areas, yet the wage rate for area B is R100 lower than area A," explains Shabodien. "We’ve been lobbying government to scrap this distinction, as you’ll often find one farmer owns two farms and workers on his farm in area A receive more than those on the farm in area B. From 1 March 2008 there will be a single rate for all farm workers." Progress indeed.

"We want to improve farm conditions as there are many labour rights violations," adds Shabodien, suggesting that wages are generally better in agricultural sectors benefiting from higher tourist traffic. "Stellenbosch and Wellington, for instance, are on the tourist routes so they’re much more visible than some of these other rural areas."*

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South Africa’s Official & Unofficial Line & Issues of Wages, (CONT.)

A co-operative winemaker in the Swartland...

Wages in the area--;UNOFFICIAL:

"It’s called stukwerk. The price paid varies between R2.50 for a 20kg crate up to R5 - I’ve heard there are guys that pay that."

In satisfactory conditions an average picker will harvest a ton of grapes per day. "That’s 50 crates @ R2 with a minimum of R100 per day. Don’t forget that the workers without experience just pick everything, whether it’s green, rotten or not. They fill the basket."

The price paid varies according to yield and accessibility of vines. "For an easy picker like Cinsaut, the price paid is lower, although a lighter crop of Cinsaut may be higher. If the vine yields a higher crop, it will fetch a lower price because picking off these vines is easier. The opposite applies if it’s a nicely trellised vine that’s easy to reach. Something like a bushvine Cabernet is a difficult bugger to pick, so that would reach a better price."

Casual workers wise up to the trends. "The pickers know what’s coming on next, and they’ll disappear and go to your neighbour for work! So if you’re heading for the bushvine Cab, they’ll disappear because it’s harder and takes longer so there’s less profit for them."

Casual labour:
Are wages different according to area – say Stellenbosch versus Malmesbury versus Robertson? "It depends on availability of labour in each area. Nowadays nobody finds easy labour. I know about guys who regularly drive from Stellenbosch to collect labourers in Darling who are short of work. That’s an added cost the farmer has to factor in."

Boutique wineries generally rely on permanent skilled staff in the cellar, but it’s common for co-ops to use seasonal labour. "I couldn’t find enough people to work as casual workers in the co-op cellar this year. We take on up to 20 people, for six to eight weeks. Our permanent teams oversee the casual workers."

"Cellar workers start at R65 for an eight or eight-and-a-half hour day – the more experienced guys earn higher. That’s about R325 per five-day working week. Of course, if they work three hours overtime, which often happens, they’ll be paid extra. Over weekends they get paid double, so guys could earn R80 to R100 per day. It’s similar to what the pickers earn."

"A factor to consider is that many are illiterate workers, and experience counts in somebody’s favour. Once a guy can show me he has done a pressing session or knows how to connect pipes to pumps in a cellar, it’s easy to earn more."

A boutique producer in Tulbagh
Wages in the area:

"Casual vineyard pickers are paid R2.50 to R3 per crate. Harvest 2007 has brought an over-supply of casual labour. The current labour over-supply might have something to do with the grape glut."

"Around 70 percent of our vineyard labour is casual workers, yet last year we struggled to find any. So it seems to have changed the labour dynamics in our area. I’ve heard of guys paying only R1.60 per crate in Stellenbosch, and in Wellington R1.75 or R1.80."

A casual picker and full-time vineyard employee in Tulbagh
Wages in the area:
An experienced female casual picker fills her fourth crate. The night shift runs from 9pm until 6am, and she estimates she’ll fill 30 – 35 boxes, approximately an R80 pay-out for back-breaking effort.

She points to a fellow picker. "Charlotte, she’ll pick 50 boxes tonight. She’s the expert. We’re paid R2.50 per box for these." It’s an unfashionable white variety grown on poor soils.

Swedish and British tourists observing the night harvest express concern at the low rate after realising that the average casual labourer makes the equivalent of £10 per shift.

An experienced permanent worker sorts leaves from larger bins that receive crates. "I earn R300 per week."

A boutique winemaker in Stellenbosch
Wages in the area:

"Around 80 – 90% of the industry probably still pays per crate. One good thing about that system is that individuals with good hand speed can pick 80 or 90 cases per day, which is around 1,5 tons. If a farm doesn’t use that system, your best pickers stand to loose the most."

"We’re probably unusual in the area as we only use full-time staff, and we pay per day, rather than per crate delivered. This takes the speed element out, which is what you’re after if quality grapes are the goal. We have 140 people sorting grapes while they pick in the vineyard. As a student I worked on table grape farms, where you do a clean up of the bunch as you go. We apply that principle. Most farms using the crate payment system are picking dimpled, sunburnt fruit along with the good stuff. And they’ll do the sorting at the cellar."

The government has introduced a legal minimum wage with a lower rural rate (example Worcester, Rawsonville) as opposed to an urban rate (example Stellenbosch, Paarl). "Recognised properties with a good social responsibility record are probably paying R300 – 400 per five-day week as a starting rate for pickers without experience. These are above minimum government recommendations. An experienced vineyard worker would probably be paid R500 – R1000 per week."

"Cellar work is generally more specialised, so most boutique producers avoid hiring casual staff. The starting cellar salary would be closer to R500 per week, as you’re expecting some level of skill. An experienced cellar worker could earn up to R1500 per week."

"Staff can double their earnings during harvest through overtime. If a harvest is smaller and there are less overtime hours, they’re not happy. In a small year like 2007, winemakers have to be creative about making it work for staff and ensuring quality wines result, so we might pay a bonus for better attention in the cellar."

Casual labour:

"There’s a labour shortage this harvest for the first time. Most picking teams are contracted staff, but if they’re given a few days off, you’ll usually find they’ve been contracted to work with a desperate neighbour."

"Our vineyard staff accrued 11 hrs overtime last week. So we gave them the Monday and Tuesday off, but we paid them for those days. This is rare on most farms, but we keep our staff this way. It’s flexitime, so if we have grapes that need to be picked urgently they’ll work longer and start earlier. But if there isn’t anything pressing, they get paid time off accordingly. You can either pay overtime or give your workers some paid time off. If somebody picks through a weekend, they may want to continue working but they need time off or their work gets sloppy. Those 80% are permanent workers. The other 20% are contracted for about 75% of the year, and they’re signed on annually."

"In the past, there was a never-ending labour supply. It’s partly about loosing staff to HIV Aids, but the poor pay contributes. The labour market is shrinking as we’re competing with other industries in an urban hub."

"There’s an emergence of labour contractors who act as negociants for casual staff, so a cellar owner can phone them to bring 100 casual labourers to pick in their vineyard. I personally don’t think it works as they have no real buy-in and they’re working a different farm every week."

"The wine industry is incredibly dependant on labour and farms are tight-knit communities. Wages could be a tender subject now as a lot of farmers aren’t able to afford better conditions so staff lay-offs are happening."

A member of a Breedekloof co-operative and private cellar owner
Wages in the area:

"Everybody here gets paid at least a minimum wage. An inexperienced full-time employee starts at just over R1000 per month, plus bonuses at the end of harvest. I pay an extra 40c per extra basket picked - it’s not quality-dependant but volume-dependant - and it gets paid at the end of harvest as the bonus. These guys are earning a couple of hundred per week more than their normal wage."

"That bonus makes a difference to a cellar’s bottom line, especially in our area where we have higher grape production. You have to take into account these differences in areas, as there is a huge difference in volumes produced. You’d have to pay the guy in Stellenbosch more for picking as he’s spending three times as long filling a bucket as in Rawsonville or Worcester."

Casual labour versus machines:

"With the introduction of harvesting machines very few people in this area use extra casual labour in this area unless they need to. The harvesting machines have displaced the seasonal labour to a large degree. Whenever we fall behind now we rent the machine; it’s just so much easier. You don’t need accommodation and you don’t have social problems after hours."

"Many vineyards have been replanted and trellised, which makes it possible to pick with a machine. So it’s the trend in this area. For co-ops, it’s common to use a machine for most of it. For my winery I still use a permanent labour force for picking and use the machine to do the rest. Most of the other guys in the Breedekloof and Worcester would do the same although I can’t say for sure. In the Malmesbury area where there are a lot of bushvines, labour would be more necessary."**

*Source: “The Official Line on Farm Labour ,” Kim Maxwell, WineCoZa, April 7, 2007
http://www.wine.co.za/news/news.aspx?NEWSID=9961&Source=News

**Source: “Unofficial Views on Labour Issues and Wages,” Kim Maxwell, WineCoZa, April 7, 2007
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