Farm worker housing and settlement workshop report

The social dialogue platform for decent work in agriculture (DWIA) held a workshop on farmworker housing and settlement  at STIAS in Stellenbosch on 26 July. The workshop was attended by representatives from:

·         ABRC Consulting

·         Agricultural Broad Base and Allied National Trade Union (ABANTU)

·         Association for Fairness in trade (AFIT)

·         Cape Agricultural Employers Association (CAEO)

·         Cape Winelands District Municipality

·         Department of Human Settlements

·         Department of Labour

·         Fair trade

·         Koue Bokkeveld Training Centre

·         Labour and Economic Policy Research Group (LEP), UCT

·         Laborie Initiative

·         Phuhlisani NPC

·         Simondium Community Forum

·         Sustainability Initiative of South Africa (SIZA)

·         Tesco

·         Wine and Agricultural Ethical Trading Association (WIETA)

Workshop objectives

Dr Rick de Satgé from Phuhlisani NPC facilitated participant introductions and provided an overview of the objectives of the workshop. The workshop was designed in response to results from a recent online survey completed by contributors to the platform which indicated a keen interest in ways to collaboratively and sustainably address the housing needs of farm workers and their families on and off farms.

The workshop aims to bring together participants active within existing social dialogue initiatives to practically identify opportunities to address farmworker housing needs in different settings.

The focus will be on learning lessons from practice and reviewing opportunities for practical collaboration and engagement. We aim to examine different aspects of the farm worker housing landscape - both on and off farm and in all the different variations including hostel accommodation for seasonal workers, off farm settlements and so-called Agri villages, the provision of, emergency housing in the case of evictions and retirement housing.

We aim to 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 developments with regard to changing legislation and case law
• examined opportunities to work independently and together with others to address farmworker housing issues in different settings.

Part of the workshop will explore  the implications of the ESTA Amendment Act and the provision of tenure  grants in terms in terms of section 4. This may provide a source of finance to invest in land and housing for workers, although  how the Act will be implemented remains to be seen. Very few Section 4 subsidies were ever issued in terms of the current Act, despite there being a legal obligation on the Minister to  make these available.

The social dialogue platform initiative recognises the prevalence of dialogue fatigue brought about by much talking but little response or practical action by the state. The session aims to assist participants to understand the complexity of farm worker housing issues and to identify the potential for collaboration and practical action.

Dialogue entails learning, not just talking. The process is not just about sitting around a table, but changing the way people talk, think and communicate with one another. Unlike other forms of discussion, dialogue requires self-reflection, spirit of inquiry and personal change to be present. Participants must be willing to address the root causes of a crisis, not just the symptoms on the surface. (UNDP, 2009)

Decent work: Integrating housing and tenure security

A brief background was provided on the concept of Decent Work in agriculture which  combines

• creating decent employment  
• providing social protection,
• securing rights at work,
• enabling social dialogue

Farmworker housing, access to services and tenure security forms a fundamental part of this agenda. However these goals remain hard to attain. Workers who stay on farms live on land owned by others and their occupation of a house owned by the farmer is conditional on a member of the household having a job on the  farm. A labour dispute, retrenchment or dismissal makes them vulnerable to eviction. Their future when they reach the end of their working lives remains uncertain. The farm may change hands and the new owner may not have a use for their services. Production systems are changing. New technologies reduce dependence on labour which is increasingly casualised and externalised.  At the same time there has been an almost complete withdrawal of state support for farmers who are expected to house workers and provide social infrastructure at their own expense.  While nominally there is a farm resident housing subsidy  programme which forms part of the national housing code, not one single subsidy has been issued due to the perceived  onerous nature of the conditions under which the subsidy may be awarded and general uncertainty amongst farm owners with respect to the land reform policy environment.  

The roots of the farm worker housing issue are deeply embedded in South African history, relations of power and inequality.

Housing scenarios

Three presentations were made with a focus on:

• Hostels for seasonal workers: Joy van Biljon, Koue Bokkeveld Training Centre, Witzenberg
• Pilot agrivillage projects: Piet Lodder, ABRC Consulting
• Lessons from the Lanquedoc village experience: David Mayson, Phuhlisani

Hostels for seasonal workers

Joy van Biljon explained that hostels have a long history on fruit farms in the Koue Bokkeveld and are linked to the need to house large numbers of seasonal workers at peak periods in the agricultural calendar. Overall there has been an increase in the number of workers with the construction of packhouses and the expanding numbers of hectares planted to fruit of different varieties. These factors make hostel accommodation to be of continued importance. She highlighted important changes in the origins of seasonal labour and the influence of diversification which had the effect of extending the period regarded as seasonal. Seasonal workers used to come previously from mission statements nearby; now they tend to come  from far away places and so stay longer. Seasonal workers were no longer restricted to single men. More women are working and couples coming to undertake seasonal work

She provided a photographic tour featuring a range of hostel situations across 85 farms served by the KTC. These include:

• Old and crowded hostel accommodation with low levels of privacy
• Container accommodation
• New and renovated hostels

Farmers construct, manage and maintain  hostels as a cost of production. The extent of investment in hostels is often a reflection of the scale of the farming enterprises  and the markets which they produce for. The contribution of the state is negligible as  are no functioning subsidies or tax incentives provided by the state for housing on farms. With the move of workers off farm ‘week hostels’ are becoming popular again. Workers live in temporary accommodation during the working week and go home for weekends.  

New Agri-Villages

Piet Lodder provided a history of the recent development of the agri-village concept emphasising that It was a huge challenge to get all the different parts of government to talk to each other and with all the other partners involved.  We had to develop a system where we involved partners: the farm workers, the farmer, the municipality, DHS (National Department), Department of Water Affairs. How do you get these people to talk to teach other; how does it fit into National Development Plan.

Cobus Dowry (former MEC for Agriculture) had asked us to build a bigger and better house than the standard ASLA 40 square meter housing, but with same money and create opportunities for employment for unskilled workers in the process.

CSIR was brought in  to develop appropriate building technologies. To have this approved and piloted involved enormous amounts of red tape. The first house was built with 11 unskilled people that had never worked in the building industry before. CSIR developed a shuttering system in which interconnecting concrete blocks  are laid and the shuttering filled with concrete. This alternative building method is patented and the Provincial Department of Human Settlements in the Western Cape has given approval  to build first 1000 houses. These are being constructed in Spieskamp,  George, Knysna and Oudtshoorn. The important thing is to get partnership and to develop a system in which all the roles and obligations of the players were clear and agreed. The land availability agreement, the role of municipality and its responsibilities with regard to infrastructure provision and maintenance; the contribution of farmer, the agreement between the farmer and the workers who will acquire housing with a  full title deed, to continue in the farmers employ for a three year period

Settlement design also pays close attention to sustainable water resource management. The idea is to recycle water and sell surplus water to farmers. Gas has been fitted for water heating as opposed to solar as the quick heat time minimises water loss. Too much water goes down the drain with solar as people wait once the tap is on for the water to reach the right temperature. Settlement location and provision of social infrastructure key for sustainability. In certain instances settlements are envisaged to have additional land and water for food and livelihood security.

Lessons from Lanquedoc: Houses without jobs

David Mayson provided a rapid overview of  the history of the Languedoc area. The valley had been inhabited by the Khoi for 70 000 years. Dutch settlers first allocated land in 1685. With the abolition of slavery freed slaves gathered at Pniel mission statement.  Many wine farmers  went bankrupt in the valley following an outbreak of a fungal disease which decimated the vineyards. Rhodes bought up bankrupt farmers and invested in fruit farming. The original Lanquedoc village designed by Herbert Baker was established in 1902 with 100 workers cottages.In 1998 Anglo American decides to sell Boschendal Estate which it had purchased in 1969. The sale plan involved a change in land use with envisaged ‘gentleman’s estates and the promotion of tourism. The question remained  as to what would happen to the workers employed and resided on the 564 dwellings on the Anglo farms. This gave rise to the Lanquedoc Housing Project involving AAC, the Department of Land Affairs and the CWDM and the extension of the village to accommodate 3000 people who previously lived on the farms in their own houses to which they would have title.

The initiative has faced many problems primarily because the majority of those who moved to Lanquedoc had lost their jobs. Home ownership without work leads inevitably to the creation of poverty traps and social problems as “young men without the prospect of jobs are a recipe for substance abuse, domestic violence and crime”

The long history of paternalism in the farming sector also creates enormous challenges for change. Commonly farm workers have not had to make major decisions for themselves, depending on the farm owner for many aspects of their life. People have become accustomed to living in situations where the community of farmworkers exists in relation to the power,authority and benevolence of the farmer. If an agri village is to be established and is envisaged as a “community” then that requires active community building in the new context in the absence of the authority and requires organisation, work and money.

Questions and discussion

State oversight of on farm housing

The questions and discussion revealed how state oversight of housing on privately owned land remains piecemeal and ineffective. The  SIZA guide sets out minimum standards required by law, but enforcement of these standards is more problematic which are also contained in the Sectoral Determination.

DoL: The Department of Labour inspection would only address the 10% deduction permissible regarding housing provision, but not the improvement of housing itself. DoL cannot give an instruction order for the farmer to improve housing; DoL can only prohibit deductions made by the farmer when housing does not meet standards. DoL has too few  Occupational Health and Safety officers  in the province. Where possible they will go out but they are on thin ice when it comes to farm dwellings, because their focus is on Occupational Health.

DHS does not have mandate to enforce regulations on private land. The NHRC regulate the standards of housing, but they don’t have any inspectors.

CWDM: Housing is a national and provincial competency. We don’t have the authority to instruct a farmer on private land. We interact with farmers and provide subsidies to get rid of long drops and provide ECD training on farms. Very difficult to go and speak with a farmer and the farmer does not accept the responsibility. Big challenge is when farmers turn worker housing into tourist housing.

Rights and sustainability in agri villages

What is the nature of the right that person gets in the Schoemanshoek agri village?  Does the  person get full ownership regardless of whether he is retrenched/fired? If so, what is in it for the farmer? Also the location of the village? Is it away from the town, so that the worker would struggle to find employment?

The farmer’s contribution is spread over three years. We cannot go longer than three years, because the law would not allow us. A subsidy beneficiary is not allowed to sell the house within 8 year (DHS clause). In the agri village If the farmer has made an input, the farmer has the first right of refusal for the sale of a house. The worker has full title deed to the property. After the first 8 years, he must go back to the farming community first if he want so sell the house. He has an agreement with the farmer that he will stay employed for a minimum of  three years. Should he leave, he will be owing the farmer some money.

There has been many agri villages that has failed, ended up as poverty traps because no employment is provided. How will it be different in Oudtshoorn?

The whole mission is to understand the long term scenario. The idea is to work with whole community, and with government departments that will provide assistance. Each agri village has to be put up individually. In 95% of projects we are putting in an agricultural component. Land Affairs are coming in to buy land that will be developed. We go to spot to where municipality says they are willing to provide services.

Abantu Union: Agri Villages can be a good idea, but problematic that worker should pay back money if he stops working for the farmer. Who are the bodies that can initiate the agri villages? Can the union initiate it with all the farmers in the area? What is the process?

Important to remember that access to a housing subsidy is household income related. Only where combined household income is less than R3500 people are eligible for an RDP housing subsidy. When incomes rise above this level then people fall into the ‘gap housing’ band where very little is available. Because most farm workers are not on the housing data base the municipalities allocate 10% of houses in new housing developments to farm workers

Social housing

There is an assumption that people want ownership of a house rather than secure tenure. Many people sell houses to get out of difficult situation. Should we not look at social housing, where rents are fixed?

Agri Phakisa ‘smart villages’

A representative of Agri Phakisa had undertaken to come and present on aspects of the proposals including the farm worker House Ownership Plan through the creation of so called ‘smart  villages’. However the representative who had confirmed in writing did not appear or send apologies.  

Operation Phakisa is a government initiative “designed to fast track the implementation of solutions on critical delivery issues highlighted in the NDP”. A recent draft report prepared as part of the Agri-Phakisa process argues that the increase in casualization has had “a notable negative impact on rural living conditions” sharply escalating  the backlog of housing and basic services provision, placing increased pressure on municipalities and rural infrastructure. In a bid to address these issues Agri-Phakisa has proposed a number of initiatives including:

• A National Agricultural Decent Work programme.
• A process to strengthen compliance mechanisms in relation to labour law.
• An integrated on and off-farm “Farm Worker House Ownership Plan” with a target to “secure title deeds for 2 million farm workers on 2 million hectares of land” and “provision of basic public infrastructure and services over a period of 14 years”.
• Construction of a targeted 333 so-called SMART villages involving local partnerships with commodity groups and organised agriculture who are expected to voluntarily make land available for housing and livelihood opportunities for farm workers in exchange for Level 1 AgriBEE status and a “market related state guarantee on current and future farm investments (Operation Phakisa, 2016)

This will be followed up in future sessions.

Key trends in Policy and Law

This section of the workshop set out to review:

• What is happening in the Human Settlements policy environment?
• What is happening with regard to the ESTA Amendment Act?
• What is the significance of recent Constitutional Court judgments relating to ESTA?
• Daniels v Scribante and Another  (Case CCT 50/16)
• Baron vs Claytile

View the presentation here

Human settlements policy

It was noted that agri villages seemed to be making a comeback with recent references in a speech by the Minister of Human Settlements as well as the Operation Phakisa initiative. However the National Housing Code still explicitly discourages the creation of new rural settlements highlight the concerns about their sustainability and costs to service. Likewise the current discussion document Towards a White Paper on Human Settlements paid very little attention to farm worker issues and housing needs.

ESTA Amendment Bill

The Bill seeks to

• introduce Tenure Grants (replacing subsidies),
• change criteria to be considered in determining applications for such grants,
• and expand their uses to:
• enable present and past occupiers to acquire suitable alternative housing and/or land; and,
• compensate landowners for the provision of both decent housing and services to farm dwellers/workers;

Given the failure of DRDLR to effectively implement ESTA to date there are concerns about the department’s capacity to implement this revised Act going forward.

The Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform adopted the revised version of the Bill on 15th March 2017 after a long process of deliberation. The Bill should soon be put to the National Assembly for a vote.

ESTA cases in the Constitutional Court

Daniels v Scribante and Another

This case focuses around the need for meaningful engagement between owners and occupiers and the contribution that decent housing makes to human dignity. The judgment also provides insights into the constitutional intent of ESTA which is not only about securing the tenure of ESTA occupiers, but also about affording occupiers the dignity that eluded most of them throughout the colonial and apartheid regimes.

Baron v Claytile

The applicants were former employees of the brick manufacturing business on the farm, who were allowed to occupy farm units for the duration of their employment.

After the termination of their employment and having received written notices to vacate the farm units, they continued to reside on the farm, whilst being employed elsewhere.

Eviction proceedings were initiated against them. However the City of Cape Town indicated that it was not in a position to provide alternative accommodation due to a long waiting list and that emergency housing was unavailable. This was despite an eviction order being granted and a judgment in the Land Claims Court that the constitutional obligation to ensure access to adequate housing lies solely on the State and not on private citizens.

In a unanimous judgment the Constitutional Court held that the City is constitutionally obliged, and cannot escape its duty to provide suitable alternative accommodation, not only in terms of the provisions of ESTA, but even more so in terms of section 26 of the Constitution.

This led the City to offer accommodation at the poorly located  Wolwerivier Temporary Relocation Area which was accepted by the Court as suitable alternative accommodation. The judgement in this matter has been criticised by human rights activists who highlight the lack of process to identify alternative accommodation and the unsuitability of the remote TRA. However as the court pointed out the farm owner cannot be expected to continue granting free accommodation to the applicants where its current employees are disadvantaged.

Group session

After lunch participants broke into two groups to review a series of prepared questions in a Google form https://goo.gl/forms/V5yLlZpPnOD2ZdyI2 The questions explored different aspects of farm worker housing:

• On farm housing for permanent workers

• Problem statement
• Possible solutions
• Seasonal/migrant workers
• Problem statement
• Possible solutions
• Off farm settlement for farm workers
• Retirement housing
• Emergency housing/alternative accommodation

Groups worked on this for two hours and due to the intense nature of the discussion generated did not complete all the questions. Individual participants and others who were invited but who were unable to make it  have been sent the link.
Grroup 1 discussions can be accessed here and Group 2 here

Conclusion and wrap up

Bringing the workshop to a close it was agreed that:

• The workshop discussions and resources would be written up and made publically available of the 4dialogue blogsite https://quattrologue.blogspot.co.za
• The workshop had highlighted the complex landscape, diverse legal and practical issues associated with the provision of farm worker housing
• Meaningful engagement around farm worker housing issues was of high importance and this required practical engagement of DHS, DoL, DoA, District and Local Municipalities, organised agriculture, standards bodies, worker unions, civil society  and research institutions
• The issues raised by the discussion needed to be addressed at policy level, This could involve the preparation of a joint submission as part of the DHS White Paper process to ensure that farm worker housing issues took on a higher profile within national housing policy