South Africa HUMAN Ripe with Abuse RIGHTS Human Rights Conditions in South Africa’s Fruit and Wine Industries WATCH Ripe with Abuse Human Rights Conditions in South Africa’s Fruit and Wine Industries Copyright © 2011 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 1-56432-801-5 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA Tel: +1 212 290 4700, Fax: +1 212 736 1300 [email protected] Poststraße 4-5 10178 Berlin, Germany Tel: +49 30 2593 06-10, Fax: +49 30 2593 0629 [email protected] Avenue des Gaulois, 7 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: + 32 (2) 732 2009, Fax: + 32 (2) 732 0471 [email protected] 51, Avenue Blanc 1202 Geneva, Switzerland Tel: +41 22 738 0481, Fax: +41 22 738 1791 [email protected] 2-12 Pentonville Road, 2nd Floor London N1 9HF, UK Tel: +44 20 7713 1995, Fax: +44 20 7713 1800 [email protected] 27 Rue de Lisbonne 75008 Paris, France Tel: +33 (1)43 59 55 35, Fax: +33 (1) 43 59 55 22 [email protected] 1st Fl, Wilds View Isle of Houghton, Boundary Road Parktown, 2198 South Africa 1630 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 500 Washington, DC 20009 USA Tel: +1 202 612 4321, Fax: +1 202 612 4333 [email protected] Web Site Address: http://www.hrw.org AUGUST 2011 ISBN: 1-56432-801-5 Ripe with Abuse Human Rights Conditions in South Africa’s Fruit and Wine Industries Summary and Key Recommendations ................................................................................. 1 Methodology .................................................................................................................... 22 I. Understanding South African and Western Cape Agriculture .......................................... 25 1.1. Farming in South Africa and the Western Cape .................................................................. 25 1.2. Farmworkers ................................................................................................................... 26 Box 1: Increased Vulnerability of Female Farmworkers and Farm Dwellers .................. 29 1.3. Farm Dwellers and On-Farm Housing ................................................................................. 30 1.4. Farmers, Management, and the Supply Chain ................................................................... 32 1.5. Previous Scrutiny of Farm Work in South Africa ................................................................. 33 II. Governmental and Business Responsibilities ............................................................... 36 2.1. The South African Government’s Constitutional and International Legal Obligations and Relevant Domestic Law that Applies to Employers and Farm Owners ........................................ 36 Evictions and Housing Conditions .................................................................................... 37 Occupational Health and Safety ....................................................................................... 39 Freedom of Association .................................................................................................... 41 Conditions of Employment ............................................................................................... 42 Racial and Gender Discrimination ..................................................................................... 43 2.2. International Human Rights Responsibilities of Private Actors .......................................... 44 III. Poor Housing and Evictions from Farms ....................................................................... 46 3.1. Poor Housing Conditions on Farms .................................................................................. 46 3.2. Evictions .......................................................................................................................... 50 3.3. Related Impact on Right to Family Life .............................................................................. 55 IV. Occupational and Other Health and Safety Issues ........................................................ 57 4.1. Pesticide Exposure ........................................................................................................... 57 Failure to Provide Proper Safety Equipment to Workers Working Directly With Pesticides ... 59 Failure to Mitigate Pesticide Exposure for People Not Working Directly With Pesticides ...... 61 4.2. Sanitation and Access to Drinking Water While Working .................................................. 62 Toilets and Hand Washing Facilities ................................................................................. 63 Drinking Water ................................................................................................................ 64 4.3. Injuries While Working .................................................................................................... 64 4.4. Legacy of the Dop System ................................................................................................ 65 Box 2: Remnants of the Dop System ........................................................................... 67 4.5. Failure to Provide Sick Leave or Maternity Leave .............................................................. 68 Box 3: Challenges Faced by Foreign Migrant Workers in the Western Cape .................. 71 V. Lack of Freedom of Association and Obstacles to Union Formation ................................ 72 5.1. Obstacles to Union Formation ........................................................................................... 72 5.2. Farmers’ Efforts to Force or Persuade People to Resign from Unions .................................. 74 5.3. Poor Treatment of Union Members .................................................................................... 76 5.4. Impact of Union Formation ............................................................................................... 76 VI. Protection and Redress ............................................................................................... 78 Box 4: The Government’s Failure to Protect Beneficiaries in Farm Equity Schemes ....... 78 6.1. Lack of Effective Government Monitoring of Labor Conditions and Enforcement of Labor Laws ...................................................................................................................................... 80 Labor Inspector Capacity ................................................................................................. 80 Labor Inspections and the Agreement Between the Department of Labour and Agri SA ...... 81 6.2. Failure of the Government to Protect People Evicted from Farms ....................................... 85 6.3. Limited Private Efforts to Address Conditions for Farmworkers and Farm Dwellers ............ 88 Box 5: Better Practices on Farms ............................................................................... 88 Farmers’ Associations ..................................................................................................... 90 Wine Industry ................................................................................................................... 91 Fruit Industry ................................................................................................................... 92 Fairtrade Certification ....................................................................................................... 93 International and Domestic Retailers ................................................................................ 95 6.4. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 98 VII. Detailed Recommendations ........................................................................................ 99 Acknowledgements .........................................................................................................104 Summary and Key Recommendations Human Rights Watch | August 2011 A vineyard in Stellenbosch, Western Cape. RIPE WITH ABUSE Photographs by Marcus Bleasdale/VII for Human Rights Watch Every year, millions of consumers around the world enjoy South African fruits and the renowned wines that come from its vineyards. Yet the farmworkers who produce these goods for domestic consumption and international export are among the most vulnerable people in South African society: working long hours in harsh weather conditions, often without access to toilets or drinking water, they are exposed to toxic pesticides that are sprayed on crops. For this physically grueling work, they earn among the lowest wages in South Africa, and are often denied benefits to which they are legally entitled. Many farmworkers confront obstacles to union formation, which remains at negligible levels in the Western Cape agricultural sector. Farmworkers and others who live on farms often have insecure land tenure rights, rendering them and their families vulnerable to evictions or displacement—in some cases, from the land on which they were born. Out of South Africa’s nine provinces, the greatest number of benefit very little, in large part because they are subject to farmworkers—121,000—live in the wealthy and fertile Western exploitative conditions and human rights abuses without Cape. Despite their critical role in the success of the country’s sufficient protection of their rights. These abusive practices, valuable fruit, wine, and tourism industries, farmworkers which occur to varying degrees on a wide array of farms, are 4