EXCLUSIVE: SA’s slavery plantation

By: Ofentse Seanego and Sello Theletsane

Being chained while working the fields in farms sounds like a story from slavery where black people were sold and traded like commodities.

Many thought that period had passed when the world recognised black people as human beings with rights. That is, however, how some farmworkers at Licos Farm in Mookgophong claim their white employers treated them.

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION

Workers from the farm have painted a picture of deceit and violation of human rights. They said they were made to spray Cucumbers with chemicals that they knew were not supposed to be used at the farm.

They said every time inspectors would come, they hid the chemicals. The publication has seen a ‘production spray team hours’ document showing how many hours were worked.

“When the inspectors, Woolworths, as they called them, they would tell them that we spray three days a week. We sprayed from Monday to Saturday, every day before and after harvesting the cucumbers. That paper proves that we work every single day,” said a worker.

A former employee, Rito Ngobeni, narrated his ordeal, which he said started in November 2020. He said he was responsible for spraying crops with chemicals.

According to Ngobeni, when he started working at the farm, the people he found there were accused of cheating the system and loitering around during working hours.

“Then the white people decided to get tools such as tags (clock-in machines). Every row you entered, you had to tag, so they decided that this was not enough, and they decided to combine a tag, cable, and padlocks to tie to us to the machines,” he said.

“They thought that even though we had tags, we could easily walk around and clock ourselves in without completing our tasks,” Ngobeni added.

SLAVERY

He said due to a lack of opportunities in the area; many people endured appalling conditions for the sake of a salary. He maintained that the ill-treatment extended beyond being tied to machines and denied bathroom breaks.

Ngobeni said those sympathetic to them, and their rights were treated harshly, and if one breaks the rule, they would all allegedly be punished.

“There was a situation where one of the employers told our supervisor, who has also been fired, that if he found us without the padlocks and chains, he won’t pay us. There was a point when his locks got lost, and the supervisor had to go to town to buy new padlocks, especially for us,” he said.

The workers added that when they tried to complain about the chains and locks, they were threatened with being replaced with foreigners.

“Then we complained and told them that the chains and padlocks are hurting us as they were tied to our hands and they were too tight. They responded by saying we are stubborn, and he said he wouldn’t beg us and he is not our mothers, he is not going to teach us what to do, and many people need jobs out there. So it happened that our working relationship was compromised, and we no longer worked well together,” said Ngobeni.

After that, things went downhill for Ngobeni. He said the chemicals he was using without any form of protective gear were harmful to his skin, and he informed the manager, Aleck Eburs, who he claims brushed off his concerns.

“I reported daily to him that these chemicals were not good for me, and they were toxic. He told me to go to the doctor and bring a doctor’s note and blood test results.

I assumed he gave me this response because he knew I could not afford a doctor based on my salary,” he said.

From that point on, Ngobeni found himself at the centre of unwarranted scrutiny and traps for him to slip. He was fired after one of his colleagues left work to run errands in town without informing the employer. He was accused of ‘covering for the employee’ when he told them he had gone to the bathroom.

Ngobeni claims that the employer called a hearing for the guy without a mediator or judge present and quizzed his colleague on his whereabouts.

“When we got to the hearing, he asked my colleague where he was, and he responded that he went to the toilet, and that is the story he told me as well. The guy was not at work for almost 30 minutes because the town is near. Even if he said he went to town, it was believable. The employer then decided to call another hearing where a judge was present. They decided to dismiss us,” he said

ANG has seen the sanction report of the disciplinary hearing from December 3, 2021, which states that Ngobenin pleaded guilty, and he was subsequently found guilty as charged.

The conclusion said: The employee’s behaviour was totally unacceptable as he was fully aware of the company rules and regulations relating to his duties. Based on the following facts as established during the hearing, I conclude that:

R N [Rito Ngobeni] stated that he was not aware that his colleague had left the farm during working hours, without clocking out; He, however, did not dispute that they are a team responsible for spraying chemicals and that he was working alone on the day in question – he was therefore aware that his colleague was not in attendance;

He was, however, dishonest during the investigation as he informed his manager that both of them did the spraying, well aware that only he carried out the spraying duties; The company doesn’t tolerate acts of dishonesty; The offences are serious and dismissible, and the trust relationship is broken.

The sanction said the employee gave mitigating and the employer aggravating circumstances. The aggravating circumstances, however, outweigh the mitigating circumstances. I, therefore, recommend the summary dismissal of the above employee.

Another dismissed employee has also painted a picture of an organisation that does not adhere to laws. Kedibone Seriti said she was fired after not lifting heavy objects following an injury on duty. She said she was placed on leave after complaining that she could lift the veggies at the packaging centre.

“I stayed at home for four weeks and then went back to work. They asked why I was back. The supervisor said I must go home and they would call me,” she said.

Seriti was at home for three weeks without any communication from the employer. She sought legal advice. She approached the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA). An order was granted that she should return to work.

“When I went back, I was told that management says they can’t work with someone who took them to the CCMA, she said.

Attempts to get a comment from Eburs were unsuccessful. He failed to respond to specific questions sent to him.