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)

SERI publishes resource guides on protection against eviction under ESTA and relocation to alternative accommodation

The Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI)  has launched two important resource guides earlier this month.

'Without dignity human life is substantially diminished'. Meaningful engagement at the heart of social change

On the 11th May 2017 the Constitutional Court handed down an important judgment in the case of Daniels v Scribante and Another (Case CCT 50/16). The significance of this case has been highlighted by constitutional law expert Prof Pierre de Vos in a recent opinion piece appearing in the Daily Maverick on 18th May.

At face value the case involves a series of disputes between Yolanda Daniels and Theo Scribante of Chardonne Properties CC, Ms Daniels is a domestic worker and household head who has lived in a house on the farm for 16 years and as such has the status of an occupier in terms of the Extension of Security of Tenure Act (ESTA). However the case goes to the heart of the complex relationship between owners and occupiers in a constitutional democracy where the Constitution has enshrined the right to security of tenure.

Wanted: A new deal for farm workers

Farm workers remain a poorly served and largely neglected constituency. A recent report commissioned by the Laborie Dialogue Initiative[1] provides a comprehensive review of the factors influencing provision of housing, services and tenure security for farm workers. The report makes a number of proposals in order to start a conversation about a new deal for farm workers.