Exploitation of wine and fruit workers exposed
The false argument that South African workers are "over-protected by inflexible labour laws", which is constantly being repeated by business leaders and commentators, without a shred of evidence to back it up, has been dealt a body-blow by a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on the conditions of workers in the Western Cape wine and fruit industries.
The report - "Ripe with Abuse: Human Rights Conditions in South Africa's Fruit and Wine Industries", based on more than 260 interviews with farm workers, farm owners, civil society members, industry representatives, government officials, lawyers, union officials, and academic experts - reveals that these workers are certainly not ‘over-protected' but grossly exploited.
The Western Cape's fruit and wine industries contribute billions of rand to the country's economy, support tourism, and are enjoyed by consumers around the world, yet their farm workers are among the lowest-paid, do not enjoy secure tenure rights and long-time residents on farms are threatened with eviction.
Farm workers land tenure rights are protected under the 1997 Extension of Security of Tenure Act, yet the report quotes estimates that more than 930,000 people were evicted from South African farms between 1994 and 2004.
The HRW confirms the many reports COSATU and FAWU have been receiving over many years - of harassment and even physical assaults. Farmers sometimes resort to illegal tactics to get farm dwellers to leave, including cutting electricity or water. In one case HRW found, farm managers cut electricity for more than a year for a family with two children. Security guards on the farm harassed families in the middle of the night with dogs.