AGRICULTURE NEWS - Members of the parliamentary portfolio committees on agriculture and employment have called on uThukela District farmers to comply with labour regulations.
A delegation of both committees had an engagement with farm workers and farm dwellers in a public meeting that was held after the delegation visited farms in KZN’s uThukela District.
The delegation visited a farm in Bergville where it interacted with the farmer and his workers, and also visited their houses to assess their living conditions.
“The committee was happy to note that the farm complied with most labour as well as health and safety regulations. However, it was unhappy to note that farm workers were not receiving their payslips regularly. It called on the farmer to correct that,” said leader of the delegation Lindelwa Dunjwa on Sunday.
Dunjwa, who is the chairperson of the portfolio committee on employment and labour, said: “In each and every province we have been to, there has been an allegation that inspectors from the Department of Labour go to farms for inspections of compliance and end up having tea with the farmer and leave without interacting with workers.”
MPs also called upon the Bergville farmer to provide assistance to the children of farm workers where possible, especially to those who wish to pursue careers in veterinary or in agricultural science study pathways.
The committees held a public meeting after it visited the farms where farm workers shared their daily living experiences with the MPs.
They told the delegation about ill-treatment they endure on the farms on a daily basis under farmers and the fact that they don’t get assistance from relevant government departments as they report to them, and from the police as they open cases of abuse.
The delegation also met with Isinamuva CPA at Besters Farm which is near Ladysmith. The association said their claim on the farm as labour tenants was successful, the only assistance they sought from the government was on post-settlement support in the form of farming equipment from the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.
