Dealing with strikes and violence: the toughest job of all

When facing labour unrest, you have to manage the situation carefully. This can be extremely difficult, which is why it's so important to get professional help to manage the situation

- Peter Hughes

Early in my quest to qualify as a pilot, my flying instructor shocked me with the warning that it was not a matter of if I'd have to deal with engine failure during my flying career, but when!

I had little trouble thereafter being motivated to practise the sequence of dealing with an engine failure. Thankfully, due to the reliability of modern light aircraft, I never had the need to use it.

The same cannot be said about the violent strike risk for farmers in South Africa.

YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN

Sundays River Valley was recently affected by strikes, personal threats, and destruction of property and citrus orchards. The actions were timed to cause maximum damage at the start of the season.

Only nine months ago, the riots in KwaZulu-Natal saw trucks carrying perishable produce to the Durban port and local market looted, cane trucks hijacked, farms set alight and sugar mills closed.

These are difficult times in the history of our country for all managers, but perhaps particularly for those involved in agriculture. It's not a question of if you'll face a violent strike, but when, and it will happen when the farm is most vulnerable: at the start of the harvest season.