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The widespread unrest that started in De Doorns in the Western Cape and that has since spread to other towns in the area is not really a strike, trade union Solidarity said today. It is obvious that the unrest is not merely industrial action, as it is marked by violence, intimidation and criminal actions.
 
Solidarity maintained that farmers and farmworkers were jointly bearing the burden of the unrest. According to Piet le Roux, Solidarity’s spokesperson, employers and employees have a common interest in this case. ‘The permanent farmworkers, in particular, are just as much the victims of the criminality as the employers. Several seasonal workers are also suffering, as they are being intimidated to take part in the unrest. The effects of the large-scale vandalism and injury to property will be felt in the agricultural industry by both the workers and the employers for a long time to come.’
 
Le Roux said peaceful and orderly strikes during wage negotiations are an acceptable last resort for workers and trade unions, but workers’ interests are not served by fanning unrest, violence and intimidation under the banner of a strike. ‘All signs are that the majority of those who participated in the demonstrations are not employees of the farmers. It is thus unfair to damage the reputation of the farmworkers by blaming them for the past week’s events. Representatives of organised agriculture with whom Solidarity is in contact have confirmed that the unrest is not really a labour dispute between them and their employees and is actually politically motivated. The so-called labour representatives who arrived at the scene days after the outbreak of the unrest are also clearly more interested in political gain than in the welfare of the workers and agriculture.’
 
Meanwhile, Solidarity has criticised Tina Joemat-Pettersson, Minister of Agriculture, after she was quoted in the media as telling the protesters that they had ‘won’ the strike. She reportedly told the strikers that they would ‘go down in the history books as the people who changed agriculture forever.’ Le Roux said Joemat-Pettersson’s statements were shocking, as she took the side of vandals instead of the workers and employers who were bearing the burden of the unrest. ‘She was also quoted as saying that she would make sure that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Minister of Police dropped all charges of intimidation and public violence against the protesters. Apart from the inappropriate interference with the NPA, the Minister is also, in reality, encouraging violence and thereby creating a climate for violent anarchy,’ Le Roux said.