The Bawsi Agricultural Workers Union of SA intends on striking at the Le Roux Group farms in the Boland.
|||Cape Town - The Bawsi Agricultural Workers Union of South Africa (Bawusa) is to ignore a court order and intends striking at the Le Roux Group farms in the Boland from Friday.
This comes days after a Labour Court ruling that barred union officials from the farms after the court determined that strikes, which started last week, were unprotected.
On Thursday Nosey Pieterse, Bawusa’s general secretary, said the grievances of workers (some of whom are Bawusa members) on Le Roux farms remained.
He said another 48-hour strike notice had been issued to the farms’ management on Wednesday, warning that strikes would resume.
Bawusa’s chief complaint is that the Le Roux Group increased deductions on the wages of farmworkers to mitigate against the impact of a higher minimum wage.
In February, Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant announced that the minimum wage for the sector would be raised from R69 a day to R105.
On Monday, strikers set fire to a truck and burnt fields on Sandrivier - one of the Le Roux farms outside Wellington.
Twelve strikers were arrested on charges of public violence and malicious damage to property.
The incident also prompted the Le Roux Group management to lodge an urgent interdict against Bawusa and Pieterse with the Labour Court.
“We have heard from Pieterse of Bawusa’s intention to instigate another strike. The union, however, needs to be reminded of the Labour Court ruling and ensure that they stay within the law. If they ignore the ruling, we trust that the law will take its course,” said Stephan Strauss, Sandrivier’s manager, on Thursday.
Strauss added that he did not get a feeling from his workers that there was trouble brewing. “But one cannot say for certain. We remain vigilant,” he said.
Meanwhile, the 12 people arrested on Monday have appeared in the Wellington Magistrate’s Court. Eight of them have received bail and four remain in custody. The case has been postponed to Monday.
daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za
Cape Argus