despite various government policies to bring about change
14 September 2007
Labour relations between farmers and farm workers in the agricultural sector
have always been unique. In the first instance, historically, the class of
black and coloured farm workers in South Africa were deliberately created by
the segregationist and apartheid regimes as a marginalised and super
exploitable labour force. Secondly, as a result of being historically excluded
from the formal labour relations machinery until the 1990s, farmers developed
their own labour relations system akin to their particular circumstances.
Thirdly, this unique system evolved into social relations of production which
was, and still is, based on strong bonds of paternalism.
Some have argued that the paternalist employment relationship typifies a
total institution in which they live as a community but one in which the farmer
has extensive control over virtually every aspect of the farm worker's life.
Others have argued that even though paternalism masked unequal power
relationships, one needs to look deeper into the meanings and interpretations
that both farmers and farm workers have attached to their system of social
relations. There is an element of truth to all of these but the evolution of
the agricultural sector after 1994 as a result of market deregulation, land
reform and the formalisation of labour relations have altered the paternalist
discourse in significant and contradictory ways.
Although the policy objectives around these legislative changes are
laudable, it can be argued that the unintended consequence has created more
strife and has left farmers more defensive and farm workers worse off. However,
the change in the agricultural sector has also opened a space for the
transformation of traditional paternalism into a form of social corporatism.
Much however will depend on how policies are managed and integrated into a
comprehensive strategy for the agricultural sector. At present no such
comprehensive strategy exists.
Perhaps a reason why no comprehensive strategy exists is that although much
of the literature on the political economy of agricultural sector in South
Africa has explored the genesis of this unique employment relationship, it has
not however properly understood the convoluted terrain of struggle between the
farmer and farm worker in respect of the culture, forms of life and modes of
practice which are constituted by paternalism.
The policy changes that did occur in the agricultural sector include the
inclusion of farm workers into the Labour Relations Act of 1995, and the
promulgation of legislation such as the Sectoral Determination for Farm
Workers, Extension of Security of Tenure Act of 1997 (ESTA) and Labour Tenants
Act of 1996. From a purely commercial point of view, the abolition of many tax
breaks and the promulgation of the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act of
1996 meant that farmers were increasingly pressured by both internal and
external global forces in order to remain competitive.
To a large extent, these policies were designed to create equity, a more
commercially viable agricultural sector and to protect the interests of both
farm workers and farmers. The contradiction however is that farmers were forced
to make use of labour saving technology to become more competitive whilst at
the same time being expected by the state to provide the social welfare tab for
farm workers. Secondly, many, if not all, of these policies designed to protect
the interests of farm workers and farmers have been difficult to implement and
enforce in the agricultural sector.
Reports of forced evictions, violence and assaults and non compliance with
the sectoral determination prompted the South African Human Rights Commission
(SAHRC) to initiate and conduct an inquiry into human rights violations in
farming communities in 2003. The Commission produced a comprehensive report
after the inquiry with separate chapters of recommendations dealing with land
rights; labour; safety and security; economic and social rights as well as a
chapter dealing with general recommendations. However, despite its
comprehensive nature and the human rights imperative for an inquiry and a
report of such a magnitude, conditions on farms and relations between the
farmer and farm worker have not changed very much. Organisations such as the
Human Sciences Research Council and the Nkuzi Development Association have in
recent years highlighted, through research, the unending plight of farm workers
in South Africa.
This has prompted the South African Human Rights Commission to conduct a
follow-up to the initial inquiry of 2003 with three foci:
* land tenure security
* labour relations
* safety on farms.
The intention of the inquiry is not to provide an exhaustive account of the
conditions on farms but rather to understand and interrogate why continuity and
change from the past exist side by side in the agricultural sector and what the
necessary policy prescription should be. To do justice to such ambitions, it is
suggested that the three foci of land tenure security; labour relations and
safety on farms should be investigated within the context of the uniqueness of
the labour relations that exist on farms. This implies looking through
practical lens of the political, economic and social relations that functions
within a particular cultural milieu within the agricultural sector. However,
one must be mindful that the rural order has undergone significant change since
1990s and the trend towards market liberalisation and deregulation has put a
price squeeze on farmers in which the share of labour and capital has declined
and has therefore significantly altered the social relations of production on
the farm.
In conclusion, social relations in the agricultural sector are complex and
what may seem as disparate elements are all tightly interwoven through history
into a unique system of employment relations. Despite the good intentions of
legislation such as ESTA, it has had the biggest impact on employment levels
and in many respects has made the livelihoods of farm workers worse.
Consideration of the farm as an economic enterprise must be taken into
account and therefore it is quite possible that land tenure reform on its own
may have adverse consequences for the creation of rural livelihoods. A way to
ensure the protection and improvement in livelihoods of all farming communities
is to reinforce the common interest in farming that both farmers and farm
workers share.
This can possibly be achieved through profit sharing schemes with the
assistance and encouragement of the state through the provision of tax breaks
or changes in the subsidy regime. In the current climate a development gap
exists in the absence of a comprehensive rural policy that is able to deal with
issues specific to the agricultural sector and that can bring all role players
and government stakeholders together. This could also allow the government to
counter the unintended consequences attached to the formalisation of labour
relations and land reform.
The South African Human Rights Commission is to hold Public Hearings on
human rights violations on farms at its head office in Parktown, Johannesburg,
over three days on the 18, 19 and 20 September 2007.
Enquiries:
Vincent Moaga
SAHRC Spokesperson
Tel: 011 484 8300
Cell: 072 562 9866
Issued by: South African Human Rights Commission
14 September 2007
