Change to our labour legislation is needed

Your edition, November 18 “About 50 percent of factories eye job cuts over next year” refers.

I have been practising labour law for almost 30 years. I have not seen such a deluge of retrenchments as I have noticed in the past two years. The figure is more than 50 percent of the factories looking at possible job cuts next year.

I represent hundreds of small businesses who are investigating the possibility of downsizing in the near future. Although there are many international factors leading to the negative business environment.

I have heard of hundreds of occasions that the rigid labour laws and the onerous labour conditions are one of the main factors.

It would be very easy for our government to make some small administrative changes to our labour legislation and the implementation thereof to try and reverse this incredibly negative factor. MICHAEL BAGRAIM CAPE TOWN Five provinces have been declared drought disaster areas, threatening food security in the country. As South Africa continues to battle a shortage of water, the most affected are farmers who are unable to harvest crops or feed livestock. KwaZuluNatal, Mpumalanga, North West, Limpopo and the Free State are severely affected with some areas declared disaster stricken. Most are maize areas.

The weak rand and lack of rain are increasing farmers’ input costs, which will largely be passed on in the form of an increase in food prices. The looming shortage of grain in South Africa due to the ongoing drought will have a severe impact on the poor, and the price of many foodstuffs is likely to increase significantly.

The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform announced that livestock from worst affected regions in five provinces would be relocated to “state-owned land”, where there is still better pasture. The department is allocating almost R187 million for this drought relief intervention. In the North West, the department is allocating 200 000 hectares to be made available for communal farmers and is busy doing field assessments and infrastructure needs and water assessments, and assessing the possibility of establishing feedlots.

Maize and wheat crops are significantly smaller than usual this year because last year’s drought conditions have not been alleviated by a return to normal rainfall patterns this year.

What is of concern is that we will have to import grain with a weak rand. This is true of grain because so many foodstuffs include it, and chicken and meat are no exception. Food plays an important role in the overall spend of the poorer people in our country, and while everyone will pay more, the poor will suffer the worst.

Crop failures in neighbouring countries like Zimbabwe, which is also suffering a drought, may have the effect of driving more people to seek employment in South Africa than before.

South Africa was of enormous importance to the southern African region as far as grain was concerned. Traditionally, we have supplied a significant maize surplus, and maize is the staple foodstuff of most southern African people.

South African maize farmers, in particular, do a spectacular job, given the fact that they farm in less than ideal conditions. They are highly effective and technologically advanced, but one cannot mitigate the effects of low rainfall.

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries introduced the following measures to mitigate the impact of drought to all smallholder farmers: They made provision of livestock feed and alternative grazing on available state farms and R226m has been reprioritised and allocated. The drilling and equipping of additional boreholes for livestock water in the affected areas is underway.

Let us work together to make agriculture a success. The government and its civil society partners are challenged to develop new innovative ways to provide assistance to farmers. It is very important that the government and private sector work together in this regard. In future, we all want to be able to look back with satisfaction at what we have achieved in improving our quality of life, through hard work. TSHEPO DIALE NKWE ESTATE