Premier Rasool explained his decision to spend Worker's Day with the farmworking community as follows:
"Farmworkers continue to suffer great poverty and are amongst the most vulnerable sectors in our society and economy. Security of tenure, increasing casualisation, the seasonal nature of their work, access to services, exploitation and resulting social problems are very real issues for farming communities. This is further compounded by global forces leading to the drop in agricultural and other exports and the harsh realities of drought; as a result of which farmworkers are often the the first victims of farm owners attempts to cut costs.
"As a Government we are doing a great deal to save jobs in the Clothing and Textile industry through interventions at Novel, Rex Trueform and Tej; which have received high prominence. I do not want farmworkers to feel that we have forgotten their great and complex difficulties. Our focus for Worker's Day this year is on the farming community precisely because we understand their needs and are working hard to address them."
The Premier will be accompanied by Minister Marius Fransman and will engage with local leadership around Memoranda that will be submitted to various State Departments by the farm working community. Research into the circumstances of farmworkers, conducted by Advice Offices in conjunction with the Centre for Rural Legal Studies, will also be presented at the event.
A Home for All ~'n Tuiste vir Almal ~ iKhaya Lethu Sonke
