The historic and watershed national summit on vulnerable workers on farms and in forestry and fisheries which took place at the Lord Charles Hotel, in Somerset West in the Western Cape on 30 and 31 July 2010 ended on a high note when the summit delegates deliberated on resolutions as proposed by the different Commissions and adopted them with provisos for further inputs.
The national summit which was graced by the presence of President Jacob Zuma as keynote speaker and the Secretary-General of Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) Zwelinzima Vavi, who also delivered a speech, is said by many, to have successfully opened a new door in dealing with the plight of vulnerable workers on farms and in forestry and fisheries.
Furthermore the presence of the most prominent farmers' unions in the country, Agri SA, National Farmers Union (NAFU) and TAU who represent the majority of employers have given the summit such unprecedented credibility and unanimity.
The second day of the national summit saw the delegates adopt resolutions along the four summit themes on social determinants of health of vulnerable workers, the working conditions, security of tenure and empowerment and training. The summit resolutions arrived at were further given due credence by the nine provincial mini summits which preceded the national summit.
Dealing with social determination of health, the summit noted that the majority of vulnerable workers in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors do not have access to basic services such as water, electricity, housing, sanitation and healthcare.
The summit resolved that government, employers and workers must work in partnership to ensure the provision of basic services (water, electricity, housing, sanitation, and healthcare) to workers in these sectors, that access to health services for vulnerable workers be included in annual district health plans, ensuring training of workers to support health in their communities, food security for workers to be addressed through the establishment of food gardens and implementation of minimum wage, community policing forums to be created and or strengthened as well as the establishment of mobile police stations.
Guaranteed access to burial sites must be accepted and facilitated by employers, including the creation of a simple SMS number for access to police and emergency services.
Addressing the issue of working conditions, the summit resolved to intensify awareness raising to ensure workers are informed about their rights in terms of labour legislation, ensure that the right of freedom of association for workers will be realised and respected and that support will be provided to enable them to exercise this right.
The summit further resolved to avail a special fund administered by National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) to assist trade unions in this sector to ensure that they are able to realise the right of workers to associate and to establish bargaining councils for vulnerable workers in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors to enable them to enjoy inflation related increases.
Enforcements mechanisms and the powers of labour inspectors will be strengthened and the prohibition of child labour will be enforced, underpinned by a minimum set of sanctions.
With regard to security of tenure, the summit noted that the majority of workers in the sectors do not have access to land to support their livelihoods and economic activities and resolved that a moratorium on farm evictions be enacted and mechanisms be put into place to allow for a process before evictions can be effected. Tenure rights will be secured for workers and that workers should have access to land to support their livelihoods and economic activities.
The summit further resolved that the concept of agri-villages should be promoted. The Extension of Security of Tenure Act (ESTA) legislation provision shall be reviewed and strengthened before the end of the 2011 legislative period.
Tenure rights will be secured for workers and associated with those subsidised houses that will be provided. Applicable resolutions of the 2005 national land summit should be implemented.
That the majority of vulnerable workers in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors do not have access to education and training [basic education, Further Education and Training (FET), and Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET)].
The summit resolved that access to education and training (basic education, Further Education and Training and Adult Basic Education and Training) for vulnerable workers and relatives be facilitated and guaranteed.
In addition, mentorship programmes to support the development of subsistence and small holder producers or users will be established. Skills development programmes will be developed for each sector and sub-sector based on skills audits.
The summit further endorsed the idea of a 50 percent co-ownership of farms by workers and their employers, the creation of incentive schemes to attract mathematics and science teachers to work in rural areas and the implementation of a comprehensive rural development programme will be fast tracked. Prior learning will be recognised.
The summit further resolved that relevant and applicable legislation should be amended to realise these resolutions. It further endorsed to refine and implement the Forestry Sector Charter, the Agri-Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) Charter and develop a Fisheries Charter to address transformation and skills development; establish national and provincial vulnerable workers units, and a Judicial Commission of Enquiry to look at the condition of workers in the fisheries sector.
The Steering Committee which was set up by the Minister of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries to organise the national summit will now translate into a Delivery Forum which will monitor the implementation of pertinent programmes linked to the resolutions.
While the national summit provided a legitimate platform where issues around vulnerable workers on farms and in forestry and fisheries would be discussed and debated on, it is not only disingenuous on the part of the Agri SA President, Mr Moller, to lead a walkout from the summit just about an hour before the summit concluded; but a demonstration of continued callous and condescending disposition of Agri SA as a predominantly white farmers union towards the plight of vulnerable workers majority of which (if not 100 percent) are black.
Indeed it is regrettable that an employers' union of the calibre of Agri SA must pretend to be oblivious of the fundamentals of the constitution of this country which hinge strongly on dialogue as a basic means towards addressing any form of disagreement. There couldn't have been any better forum for such dialogue except the summit itself.
The full text of the resolutions is on http://www.daff.gov.za.
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Mkhululi Mankazana
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