The strike action by farm workers in the Western Cape has signalled that they are no longer prepared to live under the intolerable conditions which has been their daily lot, with no sign of any change or improvement coming from any quarter, including the government. This, after eighteen years of so-called freedom.
The Commercial Stevedoring Agricultural & Allied Workers Union (CSAAWU), which operates in the Boland region of the Western Cape, has in recent times issued a number of public statements highlighting the deplorable conditions under which farm workers work and live. The powers that be may put up a twisted argument that this is a small union which is politically motivated and therefore its utterances can be ignored. But through the years there have also been serious warnings from various sources which cannot be so blandly dismissed. For example, there is a research paper , “The Unseen Plight of Farm Workers in South Africa”, published in 2003 by the Human Sciences Research Council. Another working paper by the Provincial Decision-making Enabling Project (Provide) entitled: “Quantifying the economic divide in South African agriculture: An income-side analysis” (Sept. 2005) and yet another paper, “Conditions on Farms”, produced by the Crystal Prince Unit for Social Research, Directorate Research and Population Development, in 2004, especially for the Western Cape Provincial Government. There is a further study done by the Human Rights Watch entitled; “South Africa: Farmworkers’ Dismal, Dangerous Lives. Workers Protected by Law, but Not in the Fields”, published August 2011.  Besides these   there  are certainly a number of other papers and statements issued by various agencies through the years, effectively saying the same things.
It is difficult to conclude that the ruling party in government chose to effectively ignore these findings unless it has been impressed by the spurious argument that fruit and wine farming in the Western Cape is a major contributor to the national GDP and an important earner of foreign income, with a delicate economic balance that dare not be disturbed. Indeed, it is a popular argument emanating from those who argue for the status quo, that an “unrealistic” increase in the minimum wage will force many farmer owners to either curtail their operations or turn to greater mechanisation, which will result in job losses numbering in tens of thousands. While they succumb to the price demands of large, international marketing and distribution agencies, they still earn a healthy profit for themselves.
The current minimum wage of approximately R70 per day, which most farmers pay, hovers on the international poverty datum line of two US dollars per person, per day, It is quite hypocritical of ANC spokespersons to now lament the miserable wages on which farm labourers are forced to exist while it has been in their power to raise the statutory minimum wage to a reasonable level a long time ago. It is also interesting to compare minimum wage rates in South Africa to those in other countries. A posting on the Wikipedia website compares the annual minimum wage rate of various countries. This is done by converting the currency of each country to a standard of international dollars. The value of an international dollar (I$) is based on the buying power of a United States dollar in 2009.
The annual minimum wage in South Africa was set at a standard of I$2471, based on a figure of R1067 per month (No year date given, but obviously a few years ago). Taking the present (year 2012) annual minimum wage for farm workers of R1504 per month, this translates into a South African annual minimum wage rate of IS3483.
By comparison:
The 2012 minimum wage in Venezuela is I$8495,
In Chile the 2012 rate is I$5484
In Peru the rate in 2008 was I$5342.
One could go on and refer to the minimum wage rates in countries like France, Germany, Australia, etc. These make the figures given above look miniscule. (Of course there are a number of countries with far lower minimum wage levels which is even more inexcusable).
As for the threat of greater mechanisation and lower employment in future, it should be noted that there has already been a dramatic increase in farming capital expenditure in the country, e.g. from just a shade over R2 billion in the year 2000 to R8.1 billion in 2011 (Abstract of Agricultural Statistics -2012, Dept of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries). Combined with this there has been a growing decrease in employment in the farming sector, coupled with a rise in the use of casual labour. Some farmers admit that it would be difficult to greatly increase mechanisation without a loss of quality in their produce.
We fully support the immediate demand of farm workers for R150 minimum per day, but even this is pitifully low. Yet, it should be borne in mind that it is not just their immediate employers who are responsible for their dire plight but the entire chain of international capitalist financiers, middlemen and marketers who enjoy glorious comforts while most workers of the world are forced to live in squalor and misery.