The employees of a floral farm in Muldersdrift have been laid off following a fire that caused damage in the region of R7 million.

During the early morning hours of 6 February severe damage was caused to the structure and plants of a greenhouse/ hothouse, from which 180 000 stems per week were harvested before.
About 90 per cent of the farm’s total production and revenue were generated by the damaged structure.

In a letter the employees of Anro Floral Farm have been given notice that the farm’s management decided to lay off employees for at least six months as of 12 February. During this period they will not be earning a wage.

The reason for the suspension is to repair the damaged structure to its original state.

Management estimates that it will take months to investigate the cause of the fire, lodge an assurance claim, get the insurance company assessors to investigate the case and for the claim in the region of R7,5 million to be paid out so that the damaged structures could be removed, repaired, replaced and put back into commission.

In the letter management state that they are in no financial position to carry the loss in the interim and therefore they have to wait for the insurers to pay out their claim before they can start addressing the situation.

The NEWS made contact with management at the floral farm, but was told that they were not available for comment.