Cosatu members strike for better conditions on Strydomblok farm

Scores of Cosatu members braved the scorching heat in Komatipoort earlier today, October 10, to hand over a memorandum of demands to Sonoma Investments CC.

Cosatu alleges that the workers on the Sonoma Farm are enduring harsh working conditions, and are not allowed to put in for sick leave. “We have heard that the workers here are not given leave days or are allowed to stay home during public holidays. We have also been made aware that they are made to pay an amount for their uniforms, which they do not have. We want the employer to give the workers payslips and have them registered for the Provident Fund,” said Cosatu’s deputy general secretary, Gerald Twala.

The farm is also accused of child labour and not allowing children living in the compound to go to school, and the owners are accused of not hiring people with disabilities.

The memorandum, signed by various stakeholders, also alleges that the houses in the compound have no electricity or running water, while farm workers work without the proper personal protective equipment.

The march was attended by the acting MEC for Mpumalanga agriculture, Makhosazane Masilela. She slammed the owners of the farm for these allegations and promised the workers that an investigation would be launched. “It is disheartening that even after so many years of celebrating democracy in South Africa, there are workers allegedly subjected to such treatment. We will launch an investigation into all these allegations and all the relevant departments will be roped in. The allegations of child labour and workers without proper documentation will also be dealt with by the relevant departments,” she said.

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After some time, the farm owner, Thomas Webb, finally met with the workers to receive their memorandum of demands. He was firstly made to apologise to the workers for “keeping us waiting and resisting to collect the memorandum”. Webb told the workers he would look into the memorandum and fix whatever needs to be fixed on the farm. He was given 14 days to respond.

“The allegations are not true, and I am open to you coming to check everything that has to do with compliance. We can set up a meeting so that the department comes over for an inspection,” Webb addressed the officials from the Mpumalanga Department of Employment and Labour.

The workers have threatened to shut down the farm should the owners not respond to their demands within the designated time.