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)

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.