Workshop on farm worker housing and settlement

Social Dialogue Platform for Decent Work in Agriculture

Farm worker housing and settlement

Opportunities and lessons from practice

One day workshop
Wednesday 26th July, 09:00 -16:00

Venue:

Background

The Social Dialogue Platform for Decent Work in Agriculture sets out to organise, facilitate and document periodic learning events on priority issues identified by platform participants. Results from a recent online survey completed by contributors to the platform indicates a keen interest in ways to collaboratively and sustainably address the housing needs of farm workers and their families on and off farms.

See the 4Dialogue... blog at https://quattrologue.blogspot.co.za/ for more information.

Workshop objectives

This one day workshop aims to bring together participants active within existing social dialogue initiatives to practically identify opportunities to address farmworker housing needs in different settings. Representatives of organised agriculture and labour, NGOs, relevant provincial and national government departments as well as municipalities in the Cape Winelands District will be invited. The focus will be on learning lessons from practice and reviewing opportunities for practical collaboration and engagement.

By the end of the workshop participants will have:

• explored how farm worker housing, access to services and secure tenure fits within an overall programme to ensure decent work in agriculture;
• a clear and up to date understanding of current issues impacting on secure access of farm workers and dwellers to housing including:
• local initiatives and discussions within local social dialogue initiatives
• current municipal and provincial initiatives
• national policy developments and Phakisa proposals
• key legislative developments
• examined opportunities to work independently and together with others to address farmworker housing issues in different settings.

Draft Workshop programme

The programme is subject to change depending on speaker availability. This document will be updated to reflect confirmations and programme changes. Links to key documents will also be added.

8:30	Registration and coffee
9:00	Welcome, introductions and overview of the session Guide to online documents and links	Dr Rick de Satge
9:15	Panel: Review of district and provincial initiatives to address on and off farm housing issues
9:20	Koue Bokkeveld: Focus on hostels and housing for seasonal workers	Koue Bokkeveld Opleiding Sentrum
9:40	Update on Provincial Initiatives - Lessons from agri-village pilot in Spieskamp, Oudshoorn Municipality	Piet Lodder
10:00	Learning from Lanquedoc	David Mayson
10:20	Questions and discussion
10:45	Tea
11:15	Phakisa proposals	Henriette Abrahams
11:45	Questions and discussion	Margareet Visser
12:05	An overview of policy, legislation and case law impacting on farm worker housing and tenure security	Dr Rick de Satge
12:25	Questions and discussion	Margareet Visser
1:00	Lunch
2:00	Identifying opportunities  to work independently and together to practically address housing needs of farm workers on and off farms https://goo.gl/forms/HJeJkJ9Mj8G5nq152	Group work with Google doc guide
3:00	Reports and proposals
3:30	Wrap up and next steps
3:45	Closure

Workshop facilitation

The workshop will be facilitated by Dr Rick de Satge and Margareet Visser. Rick has undertaken research and strategy development for the Cape Winelands District Municipality and the Laborie Initiative on farm worker housing. He was also recently commissioned by the Parliamentary High Level Panel chaired by former President Kgalema Motlanthe to research and present on tenure and housing for farm dwellers. Margareet Visser co-authored the influential ILO study (2015) on farm worker living and working conditions in South Africa and is a researcher for the Labour and Enterprise Policy Research Group at UCT.

Please RSVP to Ursula Smith ursula@phuhlisani.co.za