Cape Town - Researchers at UCT and an NGO start a nine-month study this week to find out who initiated and led the farmworker’s wage strike.
UCT Centre for African Studies director Lungisile Ntsebeza and Surplus People Project’s Herschelle Milford will lead researchers who are expected to visit farming communities around De Doorns, Citrusdal and Langeberg.
Researchers will start interviews this week and continue until June.
“It had been neglected in media reports how workers organised themselves and really who were the leaders in the trenches,” Milford said.
She said preliminary conversations showed workers were organised in small area forums, who reported back to people each evening after a day of protesting.
Farming towns across the Western Cape came to a standstill between November and February when workers protested against poor wages and their harsh living conditions.
Workers complained they could not live on their R69 daily minimum wage, set by the government.
This led to Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant increasing the daily minimum wage for farmworkers to R105 after inputs by farmers and workers.
The research wants answers to:
* Who initiated and led the strike?
* What were their aims?
* What was the role of permanent and seasonal workers?
* What was the role of farmworker committees, trade unions, individuals, political parties and NGOs?
* And why did the strike happen in some areas and not in others?
The strike had not spread to wine farms, while table grape producing farms saw major disruptions.
Researchers hope to publish their first report in December and will follow conditions on farms over the next three years. Data will be collected through interviews, news reports, footage of the strike and pamphlets distributed during the strike.
The researchers also invited other NGOs to assist with their research.
Cape Times