South Africa’s Foot-and-Mouth-Hit Farmers Still Bound by Minimum Wage
South African farmers hit by foot-and-mouth disease must still pay the R30.23 (US$1.81) minimum wage, while imported vaccines fill the gap. The post South Africa’s Foot-and-Mouth-Hit Farmers Still Bound by Minimum Wage appeared first on The Rio Times .
Namibia’s labour ministry announced on Sunday 4 October that farmers affected by foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) must continue to pay their workers the minimum wage of R30.23 (US$1.81) per hour. South Africa has the same law, which sets a nationwide minimum wage floor that applies to all employers except for a few specific exceptions, with no special provision for disease-related losses.
Namibia confirmed the outbreak of FMD on a commercial farm in its Karasburg veterinary district on Wednesday 23 September, inside the disease-free zone that supports its beef exports. Maria Hedimbi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice and Labour Relations, said on Sunday 4 October that there are currently no plans to exempt employers in the agricultural sector from the national minimum wage requirement.
South Africa’s floor wage of R30.23 per hour came into effect on 1 March 2026, up from R28.79 (US$1.73) per hour, benefiting all workers, including vulnerable farm workers and domestic workers. The minimum wage cannot be reduced through contracts, collective agreements, or any other means, according to the Department of Employment and Labour.
The disease has since spread to all nine provinces of South Africa, and President Cyril Ramaphosa declared FMD a national disaster in his February 2026 State of the Nation Address. New control rules, effective from 7 July 2026, allow farmers to vaccinate their own animals with official authorization.
South Africa has imported or produced 21 million FMD vaccine doses in 2026, with 11.5 million doses from Turkey’s Dollvet and nine million from Argentina’s Biogénesis Bagó. The Agricultural Research Council (ARC) restarted vaccine production in February 2026, making over half a million doses, but it still falls short of the demand, estimated at about 25 million doses per year. Private companies under licence from the ARC are expected to join the production soon.
However, FMD-hit farmers are still required to pay this minimum wage while dealing with quarantines that limit their sales. The wage floor applies regardless of the disease, as there is currently no legal exemption, and employers can only apply for a temporary exemption by seeking approval from the labour department.
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