Approximately 150 farm workers marched to the parliament in Cape Town last Thursday. They appealed to the Minister of Public Works, Dine McFerson, demanding that state land be released for housing construction and redistributed among farm workers.
During the march on Hanover Street, they chanted the slogan 'resistance everywhere, always' and carried placards reading 'We want land for housing' and 'We want justice.' This march concluded a three-day National Farm Workers Platform organized by the Women Farmers Project (WFP).
About 15 farm worker organizations from across South Africa participated in the platform. These included the Temporary Employment Workers Advisory Council, the Rural Women's Assembly, as well as trade unions representing farm workers, such as the Commercial Agricultural Stewarding and Allied Workers Union (CSAAWU) and the Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU).
The platform provided an opportunity for farm workers to voice their concerns and interact with representatives from government departments. Representatives from the Departments of Employment and Labour, as well as the Departments of Land Reform and Rural Development, were present.
The event culminated in the march on Thursday, during which the organizations demanded an urgent meeting with McFerson and the redistribution of state lands in favor of 'farm workers and farm residents who have often lived and worked on this land for generations.'
In their memorandum, the groups stated that 'limited access to land remains a primary factor contributing to the inhumane conditions in which many families live and work in agricultural communities.'
Carmen Lowe, co-director of WFP, reported that the organization has observed an increase in evictions in the Stellenbosch area. She emphasized that WFP advocates for people who work and live on farms to have access to housing and land to grow food for their families.
Engela van Schalkwyk, who lives on a farm in De Duorns, recounted that her mother worked on the farm for almost 60 years. After retirement, she had to leave the farm and the home where she had lived her entire life.
She noted: 'Farmers are getting richer... but our farm workers own nothing. We want decent homes.' Van Schalkwyk added that secure land ownership would significantly improve her mother's life. Land ownership provides people with legally recognized rights to live on and use the land they occupy, eliminating the risk of eviction.
As of publication, the Department of Public Works had not sent a representative to receive the group's memorandum or respond to GroundUp's questions.