BALTIMORE – A ‘HOT SPOT’ FOR GROSS WORKER ABUSE
Many employees claim unfair treatment
WORKERS on a Limpopo farm sleep inside shelters made out of plastic sheets, with no running water, toilets and electricity.
These are the living conditions at the Essel Monde farm in Baltimore, situated about 140 kilometres from Polokwane, from where Moses Matlhodi Morudu, 29, and his partner Miriam Moyo, 24, were recently fired.
Despite the existence of labour laws such as the Sectoral Determination 13, meant to regulate employment on farms, many workers continue to face victimisation.
Sowetan visited the farm on Friday just after Morudu, who worked as a tractor driver, moved out from his plastic shelter – which he sold to a fellow worker for R200.
Morudu is one of the workers being assisted by land rights organisation Nkuzi Development Association (NDA) to challenge his dismissal.
According to the organisation, Baltimore appears to be a hot spot for disputes related to unfair treatment of workers. People from the area approach the NDA for assistance almost every week.
Morudu claimed farmer Hennie du Plessis dismissed them unfairly after he allegedly assaulted Moyo.
He said Du Plessis told him to pack his things and leave the farm after Morudu tried to open a case with the police after Du Plessis’ attack on Moyo. She said did not know why the farmer attacked her as he spoke Afrikaans during altercation.
“He told me to leave because he was angry that I wanted to open a case against him,” Morudu said.
Moyo, who earned 40 cents for every metre she worked in the onion fields, was also fired.
Most workers were out on the fields when Sowetan arrived at the living quarters.
A man was busy cooking pap on an open fire outside one of two tents apparently meant to house new recruits. The man, who asked not to be named for fear of victimisation, claimed he was an undocumented foreigner from Zimbabwe.
The man said the other tent was reserved for female workers.
Morudu explained that new recruits slept in the tent until they could build plastic structures to give them more privacy.
When contacted for comment Du Plessis hang up and did not take calls after further attempts to reach him.
Sowetan also spoke to a group of 13 women who have taken their employer at the Sirkel-N-Langoed farm to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) for unfair dismissal.
The women, whose CCMA hearing is set for tomorrow, claim they were fired for refusing to perform duties outside their job description.
One of the women, Sophia Ramotebele, 33, who had worked on the farm for 15 years as a cleaner, said she was asked to work in the fields as a labourer.
Elisa Mokal, 51, also said she was required to work in the field despite the fact that she was employed as a packer.
However, a member of the farm’s management team, Leslie Kenmuir, said the allegations were false. “We, as management at Sirkel-N, know that we have not contravened any labour laws,” Kenmuir said.
He said the women were dismissed after going through disciplinary hearings for refusing to follow instructions as required.
He said the women had previously taken the company to the CCMA over the change of working conditions, but the case was withdrawn.
Another worker Jack Tlhako, 46, who had worked on Van Staden’s farm as a truck driver since 2013, said he was fired for refusing to wash the truck.
“I’m hurting because I can’t read or write but at least I could provide for my children while driving the truck,” he said.
Attempts to reach Van Staden were unsuccessful as his phone was on voicemail.
Vasco Mabunda from NDA said farm workers were still among the most exploited in South Africa.
“Commercial farmer’s fire and hire as they please while taking advantage of the high levels of illiteracy among workers,” Mabunda said.