Wine industry players in the Western Cape are on a mission to address challenges surrounding workers who work under precarious conditions on South Africa’s wine farms. These workers often work under conditions that lack stability, security, and adequate labour protection, facing various challenges and vulnerabilities due to the nature of their employment.
This was the key focus of a recent roundtable hosted by the Wine and Agricultural Ethical Trade Association (Wieta), in collaboration with the Dignified Opportunities Nurtured Through Trade and Sustainability (Donuts) wine project, and Fairtrade Africa.
According to Fairtrade Africa senior project officer Emerentia Patientia, the working conditions of workers are increasingly becoming a challenge. She added that this, however, is a global issue.
Paying a price
“The supply chain is demanding a certain product at a certain price, but they don’t see the cost it is costing in the end,” Patientia explained.
“What happens is that the producer, who is the last buffer in the whole supply chain, needs to try and make ends meet because they need to be profitable and pay their workers. But there are demands from social organisations and human rights activists around workers’ rights, decent work, and labour relations.”
The roundtable featured industry participants, including Wines of South Africa (Wosa), the Western Cape department of agriculture, the department of employment and labour, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, the Commission for Gender Equality, SA Wine NGO, the University of Cape Town (UCT), wine producers, agri-workers, as well as trade unions.
Fooling the system
Patientia pointed out that some producers, when they know that a labour audit is due, will make sure that correct labour processes are followed.
“But once the audit is done and the auditor leaves the farm, they go back to the unregistered guys who are normally the guys who are exploiting the workers, the immigrant workers who are seasonal workers.”
She added that it is becoming increasingly difficult for producers to strike a balance. “To be sustainable at the end of the day, but to also keep a worker employed is challenging.”
“Contract labourers are the most adaptable and affordable source of labour.”
“Unethical labour brokers often switch back to their previous practices after an audit has been completed. Trade unions have highlighted how some producers will use registered labour brokers when they anticipate an audit,” she said.
To-do list
A task team was elected to further investigate the unfair treatment of workers. The task team were given two months to update the larger committee.
Some of their responsibilities include conducting research on earlier workstreams that were active, examining the work that these workstreams have completed, and looking into the reasons why they failed to produce the intended results and success.
Some of the areas the interim committee is mandated to investigate:
- Fair treatment of workers.
- Transparency and documentation when it comes to precarious work.
- Shortcomings in legislation when it comes to the rights and the protection of workers.
- The regulation of temporary employment services (TES) and labour brokers (LBs) – includes registration.
- Permanent benefits and contributions for workers.
- Rights and responsibilities and freedom of association for workers.
- Compensation and piece work.
- Exploring the “hiring hall concept” and other possibilities to secure decent jobs for workers.
This interim committee is set to report back at a follow-up meeting in November where the final task team and working committee will be elected.
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