TSHIVHASE - Three thousand seasonal and permanent workers on tea estates in the Vhembe district will lose their jobs if Sapekoe closes down its tea operations.

Sapekoe, which is South Africa’s largest tea producer, is contemplating the closure of its tea operations due to minimum wage problems, land claims and the stronger rand/dollar exchange rate.

The Tshivase and Mukumbane Tea Estates, situated near the Vondo Dam approximately 20 km northwest of Thohoyandou, are two of the six tea estates falling under Sapekoe (Pty) Ltd. Two other tea estates are situated near Middelkop in the Tzaneen area and two at Ngome in KwaZulu Natal.

Sapekoe produces 8 million of the 11 million kilograms of tea produced annually in the country. Tshivase and Mukumbane Tea Estates produce about 3 million kilograms of tea annually and employ 850 permanent workers.

With the seasonal workers added to that figure, the labour force of the two estates comes to 3 000 for nine months of the year. On the whole, Sapekoe creates jobs for more than 10 000 workers during harvesting season.

Sapekoe has already put most of their workers on special unpaid leave. Operations like irrigation and the planting of new crops have been terminated.

Sapekoe’s Managing Director, Mr Graham McLean, stated in a media release that the board of Sapekoe regrets to announce that it is contemplating to the closure of its tea operations. “Negotiations with Government, in particular the Department of Trade and Industry, which have thus far been extensive in their nature and have involved other tea producers and government departments, have to date not yielded any intervention plan from government that will sustain the growing and processing of tea in South Africa.”

The current consultation process with government is continuing, but a lack of progress to date leaves Sapekoe with no other alternative than to consider the closure of its tea operations. “In tea export we compete with SADEC countries which do not have the minimum wages that we do,” said a spokesperson of Sapekoe.

Sapekoe will reconsider its position and future options should an acceptable alternative to the current situation be found. On Tuesday (5th) the managing director, Mr McLean, who had just returned to Tzaneen from consultation in Gauteng, said that negotiations with government were in a very sensitive stage and he declined to comment on the progress, if any. Mr McLean previously told The Bulletin, an independent Tzaneen community paper, that the tea industry was just too risky. He referred to minimum wages, export problems and the insecurity stemming from land claims.

Mr Percy Anderson, director of Tshivase Tea Estates, confirmed this week that most of the permanent employees at Tshivase and Mukumbane Tea Estates are on special unpaid leave and that only a few essential services are still in operation. The tea crops are not currently cultivated.

Unless there is government intervention, 3000 families and many more lives will be affected. The breathtaking scenery of verdant tea plantations surrounding the Vondo Dam is something that tourists never forget and is part of the region’s heritage.