Grooms marching on Turffontein

Lionel wrote: What's the average salary like now?

some get paid as little as R800 per week( look after 2-3 horses each)

Bob Brogan wrote:

Lionel wrote: What's the average salary like now?

some get paid as little as R800 per week( look after 2-3 horses each)

That's around R3500 per month.....imagine earning that and having to look after animals costing a few bars....and probably eating more than you do.

Dubai has an incentive for best turned out horses per race...good incentive I think. Ratcheting everyone's salaries up at once might not necessarily be so easy to implement (shooting from the hip here).

Lionel wrote: ....and well done to them for keeping it peaceful!

Lionel wrote: ....and well done to them for keeping it peaceful!

Hi Lionel

I know you mean well , so please don't get me wrong in this post.

I am just battling to understand how we can in this day and age be congratulating for a reason that should not be there in the first place i.e. a peaceful march.

Many times on this forum , I think we can agree that the grooms are underpaid. I know Bob has brought it up a few times.

That ever the amount is or whatever minimum wages are . Most grooms look after millions of Rands worth of owners moneys , they have huge responsibilities but when they confront the so called Authorities they are ignored .

That seems strange . Mr Victor Ndwashu has created a Union if you want to call it that , registered as a NPO with rights. There are three so called Grooms Unions one of which is being financially supported by Phum. to keep it quiet .

Perhaps trying a vote of no confidence route might have been premature, as he was never going to get one of those listed to agree they are all puppets : - As per Minutes - Quote -

On behalf of the PMG Members, We submit this Motion of No Confidence in Liaison Committee Chairperson Larry Wainstein, due to poor environment he has created, his lack of leadership, and inability to make sound decisions that affect the historically disadvantaged in the industry. PMG Members no longer have confidence in Larry Wainstein or his ability to lead from the role he was elected to perform.”
Although the motion was tabled at the 6 February 2017 Industry Liaison Meeting, Mr Ndwashu could find no-one to
“second” his proposal and it was dismissed, after which he left the meeting.”

Maybe we should be on contact with Mr Victor Ndwashu instead of turning a blind eye and saying thankfully it was a peaceful march.

in closing may I ask who are "Them "

Lionel wrote:

Bob Brogan wrote:

Lionel wrote: What's the average salary like now?

some get paid as little as R800 per week( look after 2-3 horses each)

That's around R3500 per month.....imagine earning that and having to look after animals costing a few bars....and probably eating more than you do.

Dubai has an incentive for best turned out horses per race...good incentive I think. Ratcheting everyone's salaries up at once might not necessarily be so easy to implement (shooting from the hip here).

I am sorry but the cost of the horse means nothing to me - It's the fact that we expect somebody to live on that amount... it's hard ... I am not a rich person by any means but my maintenance per month for my 19yr old is almost double that - for a single person not a bread winner ... I have many small trainer friends and small owners who will suffer and perhaps close/leave if the increase comes through but I cannot justify that type of wage (R800 per week) - there must be a solution and I think it should come out of Phumelela's take out from us punters - I wonder how many Phum and GC staff earn R800 a week?

:
Pirate Exactly and we have the RA with over R 300 Mil on the balance sheet that is supposed to be a Non Profit Orgnization

Hi Warren

I seldom take things the wrong way, so no need to worry about that . I am fully in support of anyone getting what they deserve, and for going after it, in the right manner. The comment around it being peaceful was in response to an earlier post implying that it was highly unlikely to be peaceful.

To your point: Why should they (the grooms) have to march in the first place: In a Utopian society, this will no be necessary. But we don't live in one, and unfortunately, one does not always get what one deserves by just asking for it. I'm sure that this act was not the first resort, and was as a result of unfruitful interactions with the relevant authorities. I respect and support their right to express their dissatisfaction with the status quo.

Them = the grooms.

mr hawaii wrote:

Lionel wrote:

Bob Brogan wrote:

Lionel wrote: What's the average salary like now?

some get paid as little as R800 per week( look after 2-3 horses each)

That's around R3500 per month.....imagine earning that and having to look after animals costing a few bars....and probably eating more than you do.

Dubai has an incentive for best turned out horses per race...good incentive I think. Ratcheting everyone's salaries up at once might not necessarily be so easy to implement (shooting from the hip here).

I am sorry but the cost of the horse means nothing to me - It's the fact that we expect somebody to live on that amount... it's hard ... I am not a rich person by any means but my maintenance per month for my 19yr old is almost double that - for a single person not a bread winner ... I have many small trainer friends and small owners who will suffer and perhaps close/leave if the increase comes through but I cannot justify that type of wage (R800 per week) - there must be a solution and I think it should come out of Phumelela's take out from us punters - I wonder how many Phum and GC staff earn R800 a week?

I was just trying to contextualize it here. Guys, we need to acknowledge that we have a huge problem in SA, with the gulf between the have's and have nots, to such an extent that the Deputy President tables minimum wage of +- R3500. This means that there are people out there earning even less than this. Fact. I know off a huge multinational that has outsourced some of their functions to contractors paying their staff R2000 per month! Fact.

I was trying to put myself in the grooms shoe...having to look after and feed these animals, when they probably don't have enough to feed themselves and their families, that's all.

Appreciated thank you . Life is not fair that we understand.

I can tell you many would be horrified if they knew how much assistant trainers earn

Out of interest what is a grooms wage, as a percentage of the the training fee charged per horse in other countries. I think this would be a more accurate assessment of where RSA stands.

I think saying a groom looks after a million rand horse is the same as saying a factory worker builds a merc
What is important can the specific industry afford it and in SA R7000 would be a higher than average wage to the majority

Sealegs wrote: Out of interest what is a grooms wage, as a percentage of the the training fee charged per horse in other countries. I think this would be a more accurate assessment of where RSA stands.

Grooms work hard in other countries also, most working on 2 or 3 horses and for that countries min wage

So not just a SA thing, but the SA agricultural wage is terribly low