Program Director,
Leadership of the Provincial Structures,
Leaders of our Social Partners,
Most importantly the Workers who are here today.

Gooie Dag! Good Day! Molweni!

Ek is baie Bly dat ek hier is vandag en ook baie Bly dat hulle gekom het.

The challenges of the Farm workers and related industries are historical in South Africa. For that reason it is important to understand the connection between the promulgation of the 1913 Land Act which co-incidentally was also promulgated during this Month of June in 1913.

Sol Plaaitjie the first Secretary General of the ANC aptly remarked, and I quote; “Awaking on Friday morning, 20 June 1913, the South African Native found himself, not actually a slave, but a pariah in the land of his birth”. How do you explain indigenous people of South Africa becoming foreigners in their land of birth?

How can a stranger walk into your house and declare that 87% of your house belongs to him and bundle you and your family into a small 13% corner of your own place? This is what Comrade Sol was expressing back in 1916 when he made the statement.

Whilst this decision by the old colonial rulers affected the majority of indigenous South Africans, people who worked the land were the most affected. This carries some relevance for all of you given that most of the first people to walk the South African hills, valleys and sea shores, who rightfully can claim ownership of the South African Land, are found in this very Province of the Western Cape.

You will also be forgiven if you conclude that the founding of the African National Congress, a successor to the African Natives Congress, was in part, propelled by the anticipation of land dispossession that was on the horizon.

This Act resulted in the creation of a number of African "reserves" for the settlement of Black South Africans, which would serve as pools of cheap and in some instances even free migrant labour for White-owned farms and urban based industries. It also propagated the elimination of independent tenancy in 'White' rural areas, with the abolition of share-cropping and rental tenancy arrangements.

The introduction of this Act changed the lives of all indigenous South Africans and those who dependent on working the land, being the hardest hit. I know what I am talking about because I personally experienced the hardship of living on a farm and for that reason I can relate fully to some of your experiences. The impact of the 1913 Act was devastating and the cruelty and suffering imposed on non-white tenants as they were called then,

is vividly described in Sol Plaaitje's book, Native Life in South Africa: Needless to say that immediately after the passing of the Land Act, white farmers began issuing notices of eviction to black people. People had to endure these conditions for 78 years before the law was repealed in 1991.

I am raising these issues purely to draw the glaring parallels between what you as workers have shared with us today and the old practices that were propagated by the Land Act of 1913 and further enforced by its twin brother, the Group Areas Act of 1950. My concern, which I believe we all share, is the continuation of some these practices in this day and age.

It is clear that there are still a few out there who still suffer from the Land Act of 1913 and the Group Areas Act hangover.

It is a well-documented fact that the struggle to resist land dispossession and the systematic subjugation of indigenous people has been a long and bitter one.  Africans fought fiercely to protect their land and defend their livelihoods and their way of life.

Stories of the heroic struggles of Makana, Sirhili, Mhlontlo, Sigcawu, Cetshwayo and Bambata have been handed down from generation to generation.  Many of these leaders were captured and imprisoned right here on Robben Island or in the dungeons of the Cape Town Castle, others died in battle.

Comrades and Friends, Sixty years ago, on 26 June 1955, people from all walks of lives gathered in Kliptown, dared the repressive government of the time by declaring their vision of a democratic, non-racial and non-sexist South Africa.

It is instructive to note that in the outcome of the Congress of the People, “The Freedom Charter”, like the guiding principles on worker rights, the question of land feature prominently on the vision for a democratic South Africa as these are two sides of the same coin.

Programme Director; The reality though, is that fixing the damage that was caused for over 78 years will not be an easy task and it will take time. There are also those who are complaining that the process is too slow and there are equally those who are complaining that the government processes to redress the land question and worker rights is too fast.  Finding the delicate balance between these two streams requires carefully thought-out steps and agility.

What is the difference between then and now from the labour relations perspective?

You may have notice that the Freedom Charter has remained the cornerstone of the Ruling Party’s policies as there are many instances where the Freedom Charter is quoted word for word in some of our Labour Laws.

By and large, our labour laws mirror and use the Freedom Charter as the point of departure and an important reference point. We can unpack this when we have more time, but in the meantime, you can take the Freedom Charter under the theme ‘There shall be Work and Security” and compare it to our Labour Laws to confirm or disprove my claim.

Let me lift a couple of areas where the ANC Government through its Labour Relations Policies has made major break-through.

Before 1994, the influx control legislations prevented workers form seeking employment wherever they chose unless they had work seekers permits. Some of you will know how difficult it was to obtain these permits, let alone the embarrassing and demeaning treatment that workers had to endure. Some had to buy new surnames in order to secure those much-sort-after work-seekers permits. Today our citizens can seek employment where ever they choose.

Before 1994, A farm worker could be dismissed summarily without a notice, Today the employer is required by Law to give one week notice in advance if the worker has only been employed for 6 months or less; Four weeks’ notice in advance if the worker has been employed for more than 6 months and the employer must verbally explain the notice to the farmworker if he/she is not able to understand it in the written form.

Before 1994, a Farm worker could be evicted from the farm’s accommodation without a notice; Today the Employer is required by law to give a worker one month’s notice to leave the accommodation or allow the worker to remain in the home until the contract of employment ends.

The employer is required by law that all monies that are owing to the worker (for example, wages, allowances, pro rata leave, paid time-off not taken, and so on) must be paid if you leave the farm.

Before the ANC Government took over in 1994, farm workers, domestic workers, cleaning, security workers and workers in the hospitality sectors had no-one to turn to regarding their working conditions in their respective sectors.

Today that is history, through the collective efforts of this Government, workers in these sectors are at the very least, guaranteed minimum wages, which are set by the Minister through Sectoral Determinations, a far cry from what was the case in the past.

As you may know that Today about 4.6 million workers are dependent solely on the Ministerial Sectoral Determinations for their minimum working conditions as they have no union to represent them. My advice to you is please make it your business to know your rights and familiarising yourselves with the Sectoral Determinations and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act as that will be a good starting point. This will put you in a better position to know your rights in terms of working hours, overtime, rest periods, night work, meal intervals and so on.

Before 1994, many workers could not afford to challenge unfair labour practices because that was costly; Today, through the CCMA; workers are not charged a cent for challenging unfair labour practices.  This is indeed a real good story to tell for the ANC led Government.

I must assure you that we have heard you today and we have a better understanding of what we are doing right and the things where we need to improve as the Department.  Please use our facilities closest to your place to report your problems as we want to know your experiences in the services that we provide so that we can improve.

Programme Director; My observation of some of the issues that have been raised tells me that you need a union.

So it would be in your interest to find a union because united, there is little you cannot do, but divided and individually, there is very little you can do.

To the labour Leaders who are here, please assist workers by organising them into your organisations as that will make life much easier for all of us.  Ordinarily, the Department of Labour should be the last resort for workers if they have strong unions.

To the Employer Organisations in the sector, please help us by encouraging your members to comply with the law more especially given the fact that these laws are core-created by all of us, therefore are not unilaterally imposed on the employers. Of course South African citizens are dynamic therefore hold strong views on certain policy matters, but by and large these laws are done through consensus at best or sufficient consensus at the very least.

To the Officials in the Department of Labour, please follow-up on all the issues that were raised today and continue giving special attention to the workers in the vulnerable sectors.

As the ANC Government we will be with you every step of the way.

The Freedom Charter lives.

Enkosi en Baie Dankie!