Kleinplasie came alive on Saturday 18^th May as hundreds of farm workers attended the annual Cape Winelands Focus on Farm Workers Open Day. The event was organised by the Phuhlisani team of Ursula Smith and Boyce Williams with the backing of our Civil Rights Education Team of trainers and the Area Programme Assistants (APAs) employed by the Cape Winelands District Municipality (CWDM).

There was a festival atmosphere as people registered and received a T shirt marking the event.  People warmed up with a cup of hot coffee and a muffin before the Langeberg Steel Band got things moving.

As the music played people toured various stands operated by:

·         The South African Human Rights Commission,

·         The Department of Labour,

·         The CCMA,

·         TB Care

·         The Cape Winelands Department  of Health

·         The Department of Agriculture’s Farm Worker Development Programme

·         The Paraffin Safety Association

·         The Stellenbosch Legal Aid Clinic

TB Care operated a voluntary HIV and TB testing and counselling facility which saw 72 farm workers tested by the end of the day.

A dynamic team from the Department Sports and Culture really heated up the event with a series of games and energisers in the adjacent hall. The sound of laughter filled the venue setting the tone for much the day.

Boyce Williams got the formal proceedings under way assisted by the Stellenzicht High School Band who got the participants on their feet with their rendition of the National Anthem. Cllr Jansen, the newly elected Deputy Executive Mayor of the Cape Winelands was born and raised on a farm opened the event. He lost no time to make it clear that the working conditions and well being of farm workers would be high on the agenda of District Municipality. At the same time he spoke about the importance of agriculture to the local economy.

The welcome address was followed by two parallel panels. The panel on the Farm Workers and the Law chaired by Claud Woodman drew together representatives from the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), the Department of Labour, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), the Stellenbosch Legal Aid Clinic and the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA).

The panel on Social Development and Health chaired by Judith Vialva-Smith comprised representatives from the Department of Agriculture’s farm worker development programme, the Paraffin Safety Association, Dopstop, the CWDM Department of Health Dept and TB Care.

Panellists were given a few moments to introduce themselves and provide a brief background on their work before the Chairs opening the panel to questions from many farm workers present. Lively and sometimes heated discussions ensued as farm workers sought advice about labour and social problems on farms. After the panel discussions came to an end individual panellists were surrounded by groups of workers wanting answers to their questions.

After the sessions workers gathered to hear testimonies from individual participants on how the civil rights education and legal support programmes had assisted them. Workers who had attended education sessions were awarded certificates. This was followed by the launch of booklets on Tenure Security of Farms prepared by the Stellenbosch Legal Aid Clinic which is available in English and Afrikaans.

A vote of thanks by Claude Schroeder, Executive Director of the Department of Rural and Social Development stressed the importance of taking government to the people and the creation of local partnerships to effect local development.

The event was brought to a close by the hugely popular reel dancers from Ceres whose agility and mimicry hooked to the infectious rhythms from their own CD had the crowds on their feet and the video recorders running on scores of mobile phones.

Phuhlisani looks forward to organising further events where the voices farm workers can be heard and their many talents shared. We record thanks to the workers to participated in the programme and the many different people from government departments and NGOs who gave their time and who contributed to the overwhelming success of the day.

Links to video footage from the event will be added when the editing is complete. A link to an online photo album will go up shortly.