Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism
Question by:
Hon Beverley Schäfer
Answered by:
Hon Alan Winde
Question Number:
2
Question Body:
Whether he or his Department has received complaints from farmworkers who allege that they have been abused by farm owners if so, [a] how many such complaints have been received for the latest period of three years for which information is available, [b] what action did his Department take and [c] what was the outcome?
Answer Body:
- “Abuse” is a broad term. For the purposes of this response, one case reported of physical abuse was reported during October 2013. In general, most complaints received by the Department relate to alleged evictions, poor housing conditions and labour injuries on duty and wage and contract disputes.
- The standard procedure followed when a complaint is lodged at the Department is for one of the sub-programme: Farm Worker Development’s officials i.e. a Community Development Officer [CDO] to be deployed to investigate the matter. Telephonic contact will be made to arrange for interviews and meetings with the relevant parties either separately or together in order to establish the facts of the matter. The CDO will assess the situation and make recommendations to the parties involved in terms of how to address the matter. A report will be drafted wherein the facts and findings will be summarised as well as recommendations made for the way forward, depending on the actions agreed to with the parties. If required, the CDO will establish contact with the relevant Departments within whose mandate the matter may rest in order to facilitate access to the services and/or assistance.
- In the case mentioned above the CDO visited the farm, however the farm worker was absent at the time. The CDO met with his family and provided them with his contact details. Neither the farm worker, nor the family contacted the CDO thereafter.
Date:
Friday, September 5, 2014
