Freedom of Association, Collective
Bargaining and the Struggle for a
Minimum Wage
FOR ILO WORKSHOP: AGRICULTURE SECTOR
13-17 August 2013
saliem patel
labour research service
saliem@lrs.org.za
LRS MEMBER UNIONS
Member Unions
Name
Acronym
Membership
Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers Union
CEPPWAWU
Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa
Food and Allied Workers Union
DENOSA
FAWU
Health and Other Service Personnel Trade Union of South Africa
HOSPERSA
65 308
Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union
Metal Electrical Workers Union of South Africa
National Education, Health and Allied workers Union
National Union of Mineworkers
National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa
IMATU
MEWUSA
NEHAWU
NUM
NUMSA
67 684
17 180
265 440
310 382
273 996
South African Commercial Catering and Allied Workers Union
SACCAWU
150 000
South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union
SADSAWU
6 200
South African Democratic Teachers Union
South African Municipal Workers Union
South African Transport and Allied workers Union
Transport Omnibus Workers Union
Totals
SADTU
SAMWU
SATAWU
TOWU
15 Unions
252 907
160 000
165 859
3 000
2 023 678
80 000
74 883
127 000
Overview
The Right to Freedom of Association, Organise and
Collective Bargaining
Is there a problem of low wages?
The argument for a minimum wage
But are we ready?
Strategy and Tactics
GDP: All Components
Agriculture
Employment
Fundamental Conventions Adopted by SA
• C029 - Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) 05 Mar 1997.
• C087 - Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to
Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87)
19 Feb 1996
• C098 - Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949
(No. 98)
19 Feb 1996
• C100 - Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) 30 Mar 2000
• C105 - Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105)
05 Mar 1997
• C111 - Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention,
1958 (No. 111)
05 Mar 1997
• C138 - Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138)Minimum age
specified: 15 years 30 Mar 2000
• C182 - Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)
07 Jun 2000
Minimum Wage: Selected Industries (2012)
Distribution of Minimum Wages in 2012
Agreements
Poverty wages: 40% of workers and
their families live on $2.50 a day
X months
divide by household average
divide by number of days
amount per person per day
R 3 000
12
R 36 000
4
R 9 000
365
R 24.66
Sectoral Determinations
MEDIAN MINIMUM WAGES BY BARGAINING LEVEL,
2012 (RANDS PER MONTH)
Sectoral Determination 13
Farm Worker Sector
Year/s
2006-2007
2007-2008
2008-2009
2009-2010
2010-2011
2011-2012
2012-2013
infl. est. 2013-2014
infl. est. 2006 - 2014
( Rand )
Wage
994
1 041
1 090
1 232
1 317
1 376
1 504
2 275
( Rand )
Increase
%
Increase
%
Inflation
47
49
142
85
59
128
771
4.7
4.7
13.0
6.9
4.5
9.3
51.3
5.4
9.7
8.0
5.4
3.6
5.5
5.7
5.7
1 281
128.9
40.0
%
Real Increase
( Rand)
Real (Rand)
Real Wage Increase/Decrease
-5.0
-3.3
7.6
3.3
-1.0
3.6
45.6
945
1 007
1 173
1 273
1 303
1 426
2 190
-49
-34
83
41
-14
50
686
88.9
1 877
883
The Arguments
• Low wages contributes to poverty
• Low wages leads to ill-health, high turn over of labour,
absenteeism – low productivity is a consequence of low pay
rather than its cause.
• Low wages is a disincentive for companies to invest in tech
and R&D to increase productivity.
• Low wages presents unfair competition to “good”
employers and prevents them from long term planning as
the “bad” employer is subsidised by paying low wages.
A national minimum wage can alleviate poverty but has its
limitations. Broader policies are required – Social Protection,
National Development Plan – but wages and conditions which
should be an integral part of this – is excluded.
ARE WE READY?
• Performance in sectoral determinations & CB
• Performance in social dialogue
• Performance in organising - decline in union density
• No effective strategies to build solidarity and unity.
• No campaign/process to determine the minimum and
no agreement on the minimum
• Perhaps accusations that unions are aloof, out of
touch, serving other interests is really guiding union
strategies.
• Perhaps not – we just don’t know what to do – but
then we better start trying!!
Strategy and Tactics
New methods to do the following:
Attention to needs on the ground,
Activism to mobilise mass campaigns
Accountability to constituency
•
•
•
•
Draw from our history
Draw from what other organisations are doing
Draw from international experience
Education, Education…..Theory and Practice
Group Discussion
WHAT
HAPPENED IN
THE WESTERN
CAPE
AGRICULTURAL
AREA
DESCRIBE
AND EXPLAIN
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
WHAT ACTIVITES OCCURRED?
HOW INTENSIVE AND EXTENSIVE WERE THE ACTIVIITES?
WHO PARTICIPATED, HOW DID DIFFERENT GROUPS/PEOPLE PARTICIPATE?
WHO SUPPORTED; WHAT KIND OF SUPPORT?
WHO DID NOT SUPPORT; WHY DID THEY NOT SUPPORT?
WHO WAS AGAINST; WHAT DID THEY DO AGAINST IT?
WHY DID IT
HAPPEN:
EXPLAING THE
MAIN
CONTRIBUTING
FACTORS
PROVIDE
EVIDENCE
1.
2.
3.
4.
EXTERNAL /INTERNAL FACTORS?
CHANGES IN PEOPLE’S SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, POLICAL CONDITIONS?
CHANGES IN PEOPLES’ AWARENESS?
CHANGES IN PEOPLES’ RELATIONSHIPS WITH EACH OTHER OR BETWEEN
GROUPS OF PEOPLE?
WHAT ARE THE
LESSONS FOR
UNIONS/MY
UNION/MYSELF
REASON/S
1.
2.
WHAT IMPACT DID THE ACTIONS HAVE ON UNIONS/MY UNION/MYSELF
WHAT IMPACT DID IT HAVE ON RELATIONSHIPS AND WHY THIS IS
SIGNIFICANT?
IS THIS IMPACT SUSTAINABLE?
3.