Farm protests: No major incidents
2012-12-04 13:03
Cape Town - There have been no reports of
major violence linked to farmworkers' protests in the Western Cape, Agri
Wes-Cape said on Tuesday.
"The only incident we've heard of so far
happened in Groendal, Franschhoek, where a group of people were throwing stones
at a lorry full of people going to work," said Agri Wes-Cape spokesperson
Porchia Adams.
Police intervened and the group dispersed
before anyone was injured.
Adams could not confirm reports that two
farmworkers were shot with rubber bullets.
In Worcester, a group of people danced, sang
and burned tyres early in the morning.
Worcester police spokesperson Captain
Mzikayise Moloi said the fires had been extinguished and the situation was
under control.
Western Cape police spokesperson Andre Traut
said he had no reports of violence and would issue a summary of incidents, if
any, only at the end of the day.
Farmworkers want a daily wage of R150 and
better living conditions.
Table grape harvesters started protesting
last month in De Doorns, where most workers earned between R69 and R75 a day.
The protests spread to 15 other towns, and
resulted in two deaths and the destruction of property.
Farmworkers suspended the strike to allow the
Employment Conditions Commission to review the sectoral determination for
agriculture.
However, they announced they would resume the
strike on Tuesday after Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant said it would be
impossible to address their demands by their December 4 deadline.
Oliphant said the sectoral determination was
put in place in March this year and could legally be reviewed again only in 12
months.
In the meantime, the department would
continue holding public hearings on a new sectoral determination.
On Monday, Oliphant called for peaceful
protests, and said violence had no place in a democratic society.
She said farmers should continue talking to
workers to try and find a resolution to their grievances.
Agri-SA resumed its discussions with unions
and labour department officials on Monday, but did not put a monetary offer on
the table.
According to Agri-SA labour committee head
Anton Rabe, Oliphant indicated that any undertaking by agriculture to
immediately increase wages would hold no legal status.
However, it was agreed that wages should
preferably, and in most cases, be higher than the minimum wage.
Wages should be negotiated at farm level and
performance bonuses should be used to supplement income.
There should be a balance in policies between
farm profitability and the sector's ability to provide quality employment.
Rabe said workers' dissatisfaction was not
only over wages, but a variety of social concerns, and was mainly among
seasonal workers, who had to earn their annual income over a period of just a
few months.
- SAPA
