COSATU Condemns Non-compliance of South African Farmers
2 June 2014
The Congress of South African Trade Union in the NW has learned that seven farm workers were trapped under a machine during working hours on 24th May 2014 at the farm Kleindooring. Two of those poor farm workers died immediately and the other five were hospitalised and released this week.
It is reported to the federation that the poor farm workers were instructed to operate that big machine untrained and sometimes with no license to operate that machine. We have lost two lives and the employer or the farmer is celebrating.
COSATU has for many years publicly demanded action to be taken against those farmers who are not complying, and calling for the Department of Labour (DoL) inspectors to make sure that those exploiters are prosecuted.
For them poor farm workers are nothing. What is important is profits, and workers continue to be oppressed by those exploiters. It is also on record that most farmers are aware that they will not be prosecuted due to their pockets full of money, their friendship with prosecutors and magistrates and some DoL officials who end up joining the court to argue against the poor farm workers.
We call on the DoL to release the statistics of all farmers or employers who have been taken to court and prosecuted for non-compliance with labour laws, which include OHSA, LRA, BCEA and others. This will inform the public if our poor farm workers are protected from those exploiters of racism.
We call on the police to arrest the farm owner today, and anyone who gave workers instructions to use that machine. He must face criminal charges of murder and attempted murder, but we know that the case will be in the dustbin in a few weeks, as we are told that the owner is a man of money. It has been happening that farmers are arrested and the case is investigated for two weeks and is then dropped.
We call on the DoL, our police and our national and provincial governments to protect the poor farm workers and that the farmer must take care of all the cost of the funeral and the medical expenses of those five who are still going for medical check-ups and counselling
We will be following the case up until to the end and we call on the media to expose such criminals who continue with the old apartheid mentality of “complaining will not help you; you must carry the instruction and complain afterwards”. How will you complain when you are dead?
We wish those who are injured a speedy recovery and send a message of condolences to the two families who lost their fathers, brothers and uncles. Let their souls rest in peace.
For more information feel free to call the family members’ representative, David Boikanyo, 0735576365 or call COSATU provincial secretary of NW, Solly Phetoe, [0823044055[
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| COSATU workers celebrate May Day 2014. |
The Congress of South African Trade Union in the NW has learned that seven farm workers were trapped under a machine during working hours on 24th May 2014 at the farm Kleindooring. Two of those poor farm workers died immediately and the other five were hospitalised and released this week.
It is reported to the federation that the poor farm workers were instructed to operate that big machine untrained and sometimes with no license to operate that machine. We have lost two lives and the employer or the farmer is celebrating.
COSATU has for many years publicly demanded action to be taken against those farmers who are not complying, and calling for the Department of Labour (DoL) inspectors to make sure that those exploiters are prosecuted.
For them poor farm workers are nothing. What is important is profits, and workers continue to be oppressed by those exploiters. It is also on record that most farmers are aware that they will not be prosecuted due to their pockets full of money, their friendship with prosecutors and magistrates and some DoL officials who end up joining the court to argue against the poor farm workers.
We call on the DoL to release the statistics of all farmers or employers who have been taken to court and prosecuted for non-compliance with labour laws, which include OHSA, LRA, BCEA and others. This will inform the public if our poor farm workers are protected from those exploiters of racism.
We call on the police to arrest the farm owner today, and anyone who gave workers instructions to use that machine. He must face criminal charges of murder and attempted murder, but we know that the case will be in the dustbin in a few weeks, as we are told that the owner is a man of money. It has been happening that farmers are arrested and the case is investigated for two weeks and is then dropped.
We call on the DoL, our police and our national and provincial governments to protect the poor farm workers and that the farmer must take care of all the cost of the funeral and the medical expenses of those five who are still going for medical check-ups and counselling
We will be following the case up until to the end and we call on the media to expose such criminals who continue with the old apartheid mentality of “complaining will not help you; you must carry the instruction and complain afterwards”. How will you complain when you are dead?
We wish those who are injured a speedy recovery and send a message of condolences to the two families who lost their fathers, brothers and uncles. Let their souls rest in peace.
For more information feel free to call the family members’ representative, David Boikanyo, 0735576365 or call COSATU provincial secretary of NW, Solly Phetoe, [0823044055[
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