Aspects of the Wage and Labour Supply Conditions of Farm Labourers in Natal¶
B. Standish (1976). Aspects of the Wage and Labour Supply Conditions of Farm Labourers in Natal. SALDRU Farm Labour Conference, September 1976, Paper No. 25. SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town.
| Type | conference paper |
| Scope | Economics and economic history of apartheid |
| Method | survey fieldwork |
| Period studied | 1974–1975 |
| Regions | Natal |
| Themes | agriculture land, labour markets wages, inequality poverty unemployment, bantustans removals influx, demography urbanisation, methods data sources |
| Citation key | standish1976 |
Argument¶
Using a postal survey of Natal farmers, the paper shows that farm cash and in-kind wages are very low, well below an estimated poverty datum line, and that real cash wages for unskilled workers barely rose over a decade. Farmers' complaints about labour shortage and urban or industrial attraction are, on this reading, a consequence of the low wages they pay, not an independent problem. Adequacy of labour supply, turnover and absenteeism all improve once pay passes a threshold, and wages vary with farm type, profitability, work intensity and proximity to industry. Standish concludes that farmers must raise wages above estimated threshold levels, possibly through mechanization or a smaller workforce, if they want to stabilise their labour force and compete with industry.
Evidence and method¶
A mail survey of Natal farms by the S.R.C. Wages Commission, University of Natal (Pietermaritzburg), run September 1974 to November 1975. Questionnaires went out on a random sample drawn from the parliamentary voters roll; 250 returns were received, 17 per cent of those mailed and 3.32 per cent of all Natal farms. Wages, payments in kind, hours, turnover, absenteeism, labour adequacy and self-reported profitability are tabulated by farm type. It also uses the Abstract of Agricultural Statistics 1975, a Durban poverty datum line (PDL) study by Pillay (1973), 1962 and 1965 farm wage surveys supplied by Prof. Behrmann, and the SAIRR Survey 1965.
Place in the debates¶
- Farm labour shortage: cause and remedy (low wages vs. industrial pull vs. labour quality) (see Farm labour: mechanisation, labour shedding, wages and labour control). Argues the shortage is created by low farm wages. Industrial attraction is a problem only because of those wages, and shortage can be remedied only by raising pay past a motivating threshold. Wages are not the only factor, since hours, family residence and plots of land matter too.
- Whether higher wages reduce labour supply (target-earner or backward-bending supply argument) (see Farm labour: mechanisation, labour shedding, wages and labour control). Rejects farmers' claim that higher wages raise turnover and cut labour supply. The share of farms finding labour adequate rose consistently with wages. Turnover rises with pay only up to a threshold, which is explained by workers working until they have saved enough for a stay in the Homelands.
- Farm vs mining wage trajectories and the farm 'labour shortage' (see Farm labour: mechanisation, labour shedding, wages and labour control). Contrasts negligible real farm wage growth with 8.44 per cent per annum real growth in mining since 1965, and argues that the sector's claimed shortage cannot be remedied by such small increases.
Findings¶
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Cash wages are a minority of total farm remuneration (38.7 per cent), the rest being payments in kind. (p. 2)
formed 38.7 per cent of the total remuneration paid by farmers.
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Cash wages are very low for most workers; the all-farm mean cash wage is R29.91 skilled and R18.51 unskilled per month. (p. 3)
More than two thirds of the farms pay skilled workers a cash wage of less than R37 per month
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Farm earnings fall short of the urban-derived PDL for an African family of 5.5; only a skilled father and a full-time unskilled mother reach it. (p. 8)
At any employment levels other than these, family consumption will fall below the specified P.D.L.
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Real cash wages of unskilled farm workers have stagnated over a decade (the Mixed/Other class excluded, they declined). (p. 10)
average cash wages have actually decreased from R19-72 to R18-51
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Farm wage growth contrasts sharply with mining, where a labour shortage prompted much faster real wage growth from a higher base. (p. 10)
The mining sector, which has Just elevated a labour shortage, has had a real wage growth rate of 8.44 per cent per annum since 1965
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The supply of labour is judged adequate by more farmers as wages rise; there is no sign of backward-bending supply. (p. 16)
In no case did the adequate labour supply fall off at higher wage rates.
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Crop farmers in areas with little industrial pull pay least, work labour longest and are profitable, which Standish says is at workers' expense. (p. 18)
Crop farmers do not have to compete as effectively with industry for labour and can pay less, impose longer hours
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Unprofitability is attributed to mismanagement, not to wages or numbers employed. (p. 22)
The cause of the unprofitability of these farms is thus not the wages paid or the numbers employed.
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Allowing workers' families to live on the farm sharply reduces turnover. (p. 20)
These figures are far in excess of the 12.7 per cent turnover rate experienced by farmers who allowed the families of all their regular workers
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Conditions of employment are harsh; many farmers give no notice at all. (p. 23)
than a quarter of farmers gave their employees no notice at all
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Industrial and urban attraction is the farmers' biggest self-reported labour problem. (p. 23)
Seventy-seven per cent of farmers consider this to be a "problem" - indeed, their biggest problem.
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Estimated wage thresholds for worker stability are R77 (skilled) and R62 (unskilled) per month in cash and kind. (p. 24)
These threshold levels are estimated at R77 a month for skilled workers and R62 a month for unskilled workers.
Evidence ledger¶
Sources used¶
| Source | Kind | Period | How used |
|---|---|---|---|
| S.R.C. Wages Commission (University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg) mail questionnaire survey of Natal farmers, Sept 1974–Nov 1975 | author survey or fieldwork | September 1974 – November 1975 | Sole basis for the paper's data on cash wages, income in kind, earnings, turnover, absenteeism, hours, labour supply adequacy, profitability and working conditions. |
| Abstract of Agricultural Statistics 1975 | official statistical series | 1975 | Used to calculate the sample's share of all Natal farms (3.32%) and the average Natal farm size (523.4 ha) for representativeness. |
| S.A. Timber Growers' Association, Document 129/1970 | employer association records | 1970 | Benchmark for recommended value of food provisions against which surveyed provisions are found to be below. |
| Pillay, P. N., 'A P.D.L. study among Africans in Durban', Occasional Paper No.1, 1973, Department of Economics, University of Natal | secondary literature compilation | 1973 (converted to 1975 prices) | Supplies the Poverty Datum Line (R95.26 urban, R120.45 at 1975 prices) against which farm earnings are compared. |
| Department of Economics, University of Natal, P.D.L. food component (R6x-11) | secondary literature compilation | c. 1973-75 | Benchmark for adequacy of food provisions provided by farmers. |
| General Report of the S.R.C. Wages Commission, University of Natal, on a survey of the wattle growing industry of the Natal Mist Belt, 1972 | commission or official report | 1972 | Cited in footnote regarding the Primary P.D.L. for the average African family of 5.5 persons. |
| Earlier farm wage surveys of 1962 and 1965 supplied by Prof. H. I. Behrmann, Dept of Agricultural Economics, University of Natal | author survey or fieldwork | 1962 and 1965 | Baseline real cash wages of unskilled farmworkers for comparison with 1974/75 survey (Table 8). |
| S.A.I.R.R. Survey of Race Relations in S.A., 1965 | newspapers periodicals | 1965 | Source for the mining real wage growth rate (8.44% per annum since 1965) contrasted with farm wage growth. |
New data¶
Mail questionnaire survey of Natal farmers (Sept 1974–Nov 1975) by the S.R.C. Wages Commission; random sample from the parliamentary voters roll; 250 returns, covering 3.32% of Natal farms; variables include cash wages, payments in kind, turnover, absenteeism, hours, labour adequacy, profitability by product type.
Inference¶
Quantification: Descriptive tables.
Descriptive cross-tabulation and graphical association (means, percentage distributions, scatter-type curves) from a single mail survey, comparing farm types, wage levels, profit categories; interpretation by economic reasoning (efficiency wage/threshold, labour-market competition) with a before-after comparison of mean unskilled wages 1962/65 vs 1974/75 and comparison with the PDL; no formal statistical tests or controls.
Key claims¶
| Claim | Basis | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Cash wages on Natal farms are very low and far below the Poverty Datum Line for an African family of 5.5; most families would fall below it even with several earners. (p. 7) | Survey mean earnings (Tables 1, 6, 7) compared with Pillay's urban PDL adjusted to R103/month. | Partial data |
| Real cash wages of unskilled farmworkers rose only negligibly over the decade, far slower than mining wages. (p. 9) | Table 8 comparing 1962/1965 surveys supplied by Behrmann with the 1974/75 survey; mining rate from SAIRR 1965. | Partial data |
| Higher wages are associated with more adequate labour supply; no case of supply falling off at higher wages, contradicting farmers' argument. (p. 15) | Survey responses on adequacy of labour supply plotted against earnings bands (Figure 10, Tables 12, 17). | Partial data |
| Turnover is lower where workers' families live on the farm (12.7% versus 28.8-29.6%). (p. 19) | Survey turnover rates cross-tabulated by whether families are allowed on the farm; small number of observations in some classes. | Partial data |
| Wage levels and labour conditions differ systematically by product: sugar and wattle/timber pay most, crops pay least yet are highly profitable at workers' expense. (p. 21) | Survey tables 1, 6, 10, 11, 15 by farm type; small samples for some types. | Partial data |
| Wage thresholds of about R77/month (skilled) and R62/month (unskilled) are needed before turnover and absenteeism fall and worker stability is achieved. (p. 23) | Graphical turnover/absenteeism vs wage curves (Figs 5, 6) from the survey; few observations at high wages, which the author concedes. | Illustrative or anecdotal |
| Farm profitability is positively related to wages paid; unprofitable farms' losses stem from mismanagement rather than wages. (p. 21) | Survey profit categories 1-5 (Tables 14, 16, 17), self-reported by farmers. | Illustrative or anecdotal |
The author's caveats¶
Response rate low (250 returns, usable sample 17% of mailings); sampled farms 28% larger than average; classification of skilled/unskilled at farmers' discretion; horticulture only seven observations and pigs/poultry possibly unrepresentative; no deviations about the mean shown and a few high-paying farms distort means; in-kind values (land, housing) valued by the farmer's estimate; part-time wages likely overestimated and earnings exclude other income; profit categories 1 and 2 unrepresentative; high-wage turnover results based on few observations; labour shortage figures reflect farmer responses.
Gaps in the evidence¶
The argument rests on a single self-reported mail survey with a low response rate and no significance testing or multivariate controls, so associations (e.g. wages and labour adequacy, profit and wages) may be confounded by farm size, location and product. Worker-side data (household surveys or interviews with farmworkers) and farm records of actual wage bills, turnover and output would test the threshold and efficiency-wage claims better. Rural PDL estimates and the original 1962/65 survey data would allow sounder wage-trend comparisons; such sources partly existed then (e.g. agricultural census data).
Replicability: Data poorly documented.