Scottish farmer says competition from SA makes harvest 'unviable', donates entire blueberry crop

[Cosmik Debris]

Pension contributions and holiday pay? Now we understand why they can't keep, they are spoiling the masses.

Something berry pickers on less than £10 a day in South Africa on minimum wage can only dream of. See how poor SA actually is? Low unemployment and a labour shortage in the UK too.

 

[Cosmik Debris]

That’s £12000 a month
Doing what

Truck drivers drive trucks...

 

[Pak Fa Fui]

Truck drivers drive trucks...

Oh

 

[TheMightyQuinn]

Why doesn't he simply import cheap labor from SA? Lots have no jobs due to BEE - thousands on this forum.

Already picking blueberries in Perth...

 

[TheMightyQuinn]

"Labour costs (for fruit pickers) meanwhile have risen from £7 an hour five years ago to £10.10 today"

That's R1700 pay per day for a fruit picker excluding pension contributions and holiday pay. Just over R35000 salary per month to pick blueberries. WTF!

Pointless "math"...

 

[TheMightyQuinn]

Scottish farmer says competition from SA makes harvest 'unviable', donates entire blueberry crop | Business

A Scottish farmer is giving away his entire crop of blueberries, worth R42m, to charity, saying cheap imports and high labour costs made harvesting economically unviable.

www-news24-com.cdn.ampproject.org

Farmers losing farms as price of blueberries falls

Blueberry producers are facing delays in their return on investment as global prices of the fruit decrease.

www.farmersweekly.co.za

More things at play in the market...

 

[Howdy]

Just putting some reality on the spin ...

Last season during a particularly cold spell, guys were flying with Robinsons every night just west of JHB to protect the berries from frost. Rotor wash and engine heat apparently is just what is required. Not exactly cheap.

 

[Sinbad]

They couldnt get it right to only call produce from their region blueberries

*bleuberries

 

[ShaunSA]

So there's going to be a lot of blue waffles in Scotland over the next few weeks?

 

[Cius]

Not new. Labour intensive farming tends to die down in rich countries and expand in poor countries due to labour costs. He should plant something that is machine harvestable instead. I spent time in rural France watching the farmers and it was incredible to observe the level of automation involved. In Europe the machine is a lot cheaper than the worker over the long run so so they automate everything.

 

[ForceFate]

A Truck Driver can expect an average starting salary of £24,200. The highest salaries can exceed £60,000.

Truck Driver Salary (UK 2023) | Jobted UK

How much does a Truck Driver make in the UK? Find out now! Truck Driver average salary, total pay, compensation by experience level, top salaries and jobs by location.

uk.jobted.com

I was earning £400 basic a day plus allowances working out of Aberdeen, Scotland a few years ago. But then you work a 12 hour day and don't slack off like in SA and you're subject to random alcohol and drug tests. Refusal is instant termination as is a positive test. No three warning letters.

In ZA, employers aren't mandated by law to have 3 warnings before dismissal afaik. An employee can be dismissed after the first disciplinary hearing if there's sufficient evidence they were drunk and they were made aware beforehand (briefed about policies).

 

[TheChamp]

In ZA, employers aren't mandated by law to have 3 warnings before dismissal afaik. An employee can be dismissed after the first disciplinary hearing if there's sufficient evidence they were drunk and they were made aware beforehand (briefed about policies).

Yes, a dismissable offence is a dismissable offence, it doesn't need prior warnings.

 

[Cosmik Debris]

In ZA, employers aren't mandated by law to have 3 warnings before dismissal afaik. An employee can be dismissed after the first disciplinary hearing if there's sufficient evidence they were drunk and they were made aware beforehand (briefed about policies).

Correct. But do they test at any time in SA? If I entered company premises with a sealed bottle of booze in my boot, it was a dismissal offence. Is it so in SA?

 

[ForceFate]

Correct. But do they test at any time in SA?

If there's reasonable suspicion the person is drunk, yes. Employers have varying ways of dealing with it.

If I entered company premises with a sealed bottle of booze in my boot, it was a dismissal offence.

It's still the case in the mines and smelters. I don't know about banks and such.

Is it so in SA?

Yes. Booze, guns, drugs strictly prohibited. Some employers have parking for outside the premises where you can park if you don't want your vehicle searched.

 

[Cosmik Debris]

If there's reasonable suspicion the person is drunk, yes. Employers have varying ways of dealing with it.

We were tested at random with no suspicion at all. Company policy so many tests a week.

Glad to see SA is catching up to first world norms regarding booze and drugs at the workplace.

 

[ForceFate]

We were tested at random with no suspicion at all. Company policy so many tests a week.

This is how my ex employer did it. Everyone was subjected to mandatory alcohol tests in the morning. Drug tests were random. If there's reasonable suspicion during the day, then you're tested again. It's up to the employer how they want to do it. I know some places it's random when you enter.

Glad to see SA is catching up to first world norms regarding booze and drugs at the workplace.

When it comes to health and safety laws, ZA has always been on par with some of the developed world.

 

[Cosmik Debris]

When it comes to health and safety laws, ZA has always been on par with some of the developed world.

SA plays catchup. If they had a proper SHEQ system and lock out tag out at Camden power station, the chemical dosing valve could never have been opened.

 

[ForceFate]

SA plays catchup. If they had a proper SHEQ system and lock out tag out at Camden power station, the chemical dosing valve could never have been opened.

It's not a dosing valve but a large shut off valve according to reports. Shut off valves don't stay under lock when plant is in operation.

Human error means accidents can happen anywhere in the world.

Look at this...

Workers Injured in Pennsylvania Coke Blast Sue U.S. Steel

Three men burned in a July explosion at U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works have sued claiming the steelmaker's managers directed them to repair a "live" gas

www.insurancejournal.com

 

[Willie Trombone]

Never heard of blueberry cultivation outside of the Northern Hemisphere. Learn something new every day...

Blueberries, South Africa

southafrica.co.za

It's fascinating... apparently a special strain that doesn't require frost to fruit.

 

[Willie Trombone]

Not overprotective labour laws that result in sheltered employment as in SA.

Yet they can import from SA cheaper than they can pick them on their own back doorstep.