Mass march to be staged by fed-up farmworkers

By Ilhaam Hoosain
16 November 2007

Farm workers will be staging a mass protest march for the first time ever on Saturday the 17 November in various rural towns across the country.

“The first thing we want to do is highlight the negative impact of the skyrocketing and continuous rising of food prices,” says Food and Allied Workers Union’s Katishi Masemola.

“To secondly highlight the plight of workers and farm dwellers because we think they continue to live in conditions of slavery,” says Masemola

Demands that workers are striking for include safer transport and stronger monitoring of the compliance of the Occupational Health and Safety Act by farmers. This is in light of two recent accidents in Piketberg and De Doorns that claimed the lives of farm workers.

The union said it would be handing over memorandums to the departments of labour, agriculture, justice, trade and industry among others.

Employer organisations such as Agri-SA and the Transvaal Agricultural Union would also receive memorandums containing the workers' demands.

The areas the marches are planned to take place in are Paarl, Upington, Ficksburg, Groblersdal, Rustenburg and Port Elizabeth. They will start at 9am at Berg River Boulevard, Skaapland grass park, Excel Garage, Golf club, Taxi Rank and Centenary Hall respectively.

The Western Cape’s Department of Agriculture was not available for comment.