Union wins award for work on farms
THE Commercial Stevedoring and Allied Workers Union’s (CSAAWU) efforts to highlight the plight of farmworkers have earned the organisation a prestigious global award in Norway.
The union received the Arthur Svensson International Prize for Trade Union Rights at a ceremony in the Norwegian capital Oslo on Thursday.
The Arthur Svensson International Prize recognises the work that the prize winners do in countries or contexts where union work is often very difficult or dangerous.
CSAAWU has been responsible for organising farmworkers, mainly in the Western Cape, over the past 10 years.
During the Western Cape farmworker uprising in 2012/2013, the union faced many legal battles as some of its leaders were dismissed or intimidated and others imprisoned.
Despite these challenges and even the threat of closure, CSAAWU continued to mobilise and support farmworkers.
CSAAWU’s Trevor Christians and Karel Swart told the gathering that the award was not for CSAAWU.
“This award is for the thousands and millions of marginalised working poor women and men across the world, but especially the rural workers who struggle for their very existence and survival daily,” the union said.
“This award will hopefully indicate to commercial agriculture, agribusiness and the agri-industry that, as CSAAWU, we are not alone.
“Farmworkers have friends and comrades globally who support the struggle to restore human dignity, hope and their legitimate aspirations for a living wage and the right to organise without fear,” the union added.
The union said it was faced with an uphill battle gaining access to farms to educate workers about their rights or to investigate complaints against farmers.
In August last year the union embarked on a legal strike at the Robertson Winery that ended with a collective agreement on a wage increase for workers.
In saluting the work of CSAAWU, the Norwegian trade unions said CSAAWU was not alone and that internationalism was a key tool for solidarity.
Yesterday Christians said: “This prize is an enormous boost to the union and it will assist us to deal very effectively with the conditions of the farmworkers.
“It gives the workers a global platform to raise their struggles around clean water, housing and low wages.
“It gives them a strong voice, and that is what we need.”
The Arthur Svensson Prize is named after one of the most prominent leaders of the Norwegian trade union movement, who had a profound effect on society by creating better conditions for Norwegian workers.
The prize has a value of about R700 000, which goes towards the work carried out by the respective union and its projects.
It gives workers a global platform to raise their many struggles