The plight of farmworkers in KwaZulu-Natal has been taken on by a foundation established by Lion King hitmaker Lebo M.
The Lebo M Foundation law clinic had its first roadshow at a farmworkers’ imbizo in Ndwedwe, north of Durban this week.
Foundation managing director Bohlale Mathathe this week said most of the complaints they received were of exploitative practices.
“People are made to work from sunrise to sunset with no lunch or tea breaks, not being allowed to even go to the bathroom.
“The conditions they live in...we had people telling us the farmer made them buy basic services from him at a mark-up, some were getting wages which were inconsistent from month to month without being told the basis of the fluctuations,” said Mathathe.
The law clinic was part of an imbizo convened by Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant. It was the culmination of a week- long blitz of farms in the area.
According to KZN labour spokesperson Lungelo Mkamba, inspectors found that farmers flouted various labour laws. Some workers were not provided protective gear, sanitation and were paid far below the mini-mum wage without sick leave or public holiday pay. Inspectors from the Durban, Verulam and Stanger labour offices inspected 29 farms with only six found to be compliant with labour laws. Mkamba said at one farm, workers were exposed to hazardous chemicals. At another, there was no eye protection or partitioning of an area where welding was done or guarding of shears, guillotines or presses.
Immigration officers who were part of the blitz found 64 illegal immigrants working on farms.
Deported
Provincial home affairs manager Cyril Mncwabe said six of the foreigners found were arrested and will be deported. They were from Malawi, Mozambique and Lesotho.
The farmer was fined for violation of immigration laws. “What is important is not coming to farmers and arresting and reporting workers, what is important is helping people get the correct permits,” he said.
Oliphant said workers lived on dwellings not fit even for animals. “What we saw was shocking, it is sad that there are employers who treat people so inhumanely,” she said.
The minister said she understood the workers’ hardships well, as she had grown up on a farm.
Mathathe, who has a legal background, said farmworkers did not seem to know their rights and entitlements.
“One man was so afraid of being reported to police for having entered South Africa illegally from Zimbabwe, that his 10- and 8-year old children had not been registered and did not have birth certificates.
“There is an undocumented population developing, there were others who were threatened with exposure because they were in the country illegally.”
Where it was more than legal advice needed, the law clinic would take the cases up.
Mathathe said they would assist getting some of the injured workers workman’s compensation for example.
“In instances where criminal matters arose, we will refer these to our firms which work with the foundation, who will litigate on a pro bono basis.”
Mathathe said it was very sad that people were forgotten.
“It’s like they live in a parallel existence. The Lebo M Foundation law clinic was established for exactly these kind of people, to restore dignity to the most vulnerable,” she said.
Mkamba said the Department of Labour had issued enforcement notices to non-compliant farms and would be investigating other transgressions.