Justice committed to the protection of farm-workers and farm-dwellers rights
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD), in partnership with the Foundation for Human Rights (FHR), will host a national strategic engagement session on the rights of farm workers and farm dwellers at the Strand Towers Hotel, Cape Town from 7 to 9 August 2015.
The engagement will bring together between 80 and 100 farm workers, farm dwellers, representatives from CSOs, government departments and statutory bodies who are actively involved in the promotion and protection of farm worker and farm dweller rights. The three-day session will consolidate the collective experiences of these representatives and organizations on the efforts that were made to remedy the plight of farm workers in the Boland area of the Western Cape. The overarching aim is to provide space for reflection on issues facing farm workers and farm dwellers and to identify sustainable solutions to these challenges.
In late 2012, Boland farm workers embarked on protest action to demand better wages, improved living conditions and the protection of their rights. Subsequent to the strike, a series of dialogues with farming communities were convened by the then Deputy President, Kgalema Motlanthe and later the current Deputy President, Cyril Ramphosa. As part of its commitment to promote and protect the rights of vulnerable groups, the DoJ&CD committed to lead a dedicated project in partnership with the FHR to heighten human rights awareness in the wider Boland area.
In 2014, the project was rolled out across the wider Boland area with great success. The DOJ&CD was able to reach over 100,000 beneficiaries through the partnership with the FHR and civil society organizations. A number of activities were undertaken to empower all the participating stakeholders with wide-scale interventions including workshops, interactions with political principals, radio programmes and community level participative events focused on constitutional education.
Based on the successes of these interventions, the DOJ&CD in partnership with the FHR is planning to upscale the model piloted in the Boland area through a national roll-out strategy. The upcoming national strategic engagement will assist in paving a way forward for the roll out of the programme nationally.
For media confirmations and RSVP please contact:
Andile Tshona: 073 566 3345 – email: Tshona_ab@yahoo.com
Mandla Mathebula: 082 8679 824 – email: mathebulamandla@gmail.com
Enquiries:
Advocate Mthunzi Mhaga
Spokesperson for the for the Ministry of Justice and Correctional services
Cell: 083 641 8141
