The first of six public hearings on Western Cape farmworkers' wages started in Grabouw on Monday evening.
A group bussed in by the Building and Allied Workers' Union of SA toyi-toyed and chanted ahead of the meeting.
The labour department was hosting an extra series of week-long public hearings in the Western Cape, where farmworkers had been protesting for higher wages, on the review of farmworkers' minimum wages.
The department's acting director of labour standards Titus Mtsweni said the hearings were being held in response to a request from unions.
Mtsweni and chief director of labour relations Thembinkosi Mkalipi were expected to address the meeting.
In a statement issued on Sunday Mtsweni said the drafting of a report on the outcome of last year's public hearing was already underway. He felt it would be inappropriate to write the report without direct input from areas most affected by the strike.
Further hearings were scheduled for towns including De Doorns, Robertson, Oudtshoorn, and Vredendal between January 14 and 20.
The strike, by seasonal workers to have their minimum R69 daily wage increased to R150, resumed on Wednesday. It began on August 27 last year and was called off on December 4.
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