Business Day
*Protesting farmworkers 'chase away' Zille*** *Bekezela Phakathi, Business Day, Johannesburg, 8 November 2012 *WESTERN Cape Premier Helen Zille was 'chased away' by protesting farmworkers in De Doorns on Thursday.
Ms Zille, however, denied this. "I spoke to the people and there was no sense of running away, no sense of fleeing," she said. She visited the area following days of violent protests over wages that left some vineyards in flames. Farmworkers are demanding that their daily pay be doubled to R150 per day.
The strike has already cost farmers millions of rands. The area produces table grapes, mainly for the export market.
Farmers in the area employ 8,000 full-time workers and another 8,000 seasonal ones.
On Thursday, protesting farmworkers refused to allow the premier to address them, saying she did not care about them. On Wednesday night several vineyards were again set alight.
According to the workers, Ms Zille only visited the area because of the burning of the vineyards.
Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) Western Cape secretary Tony Ehrenreich cautioned the Democratic Alliance (DA) against politicising the strike in De Doorns.
Mr Ehrenreich said in a statement that "the tensions have already led to a situation of ongoing conflict, which has the risk to become open violence".
He said the visit by Ms Zille in spite of the workers' warning, led to the premier being unceremoniously chased away from the workers' gathering.
He added that "the cat is out of the bag in the Western Cape", where workers now know that the DA supports the farmers' oppression of them and they are rejecting the DA.
Cosatu said it would continue to support the workers' demand of R150 per day and rejected the R80 offered by the farmers, calling it an insult and a return to slave wages.
Meanwhile, ANC Western Cape leader Marius Fransman also visited the area earlier on Thursday and was allowed to address the crowds. He told the farmworkers that the party in the province supported their demands for more pay.
Negotiations are expected to resume on Friday, but it seems unlikely a settlement will be reached.
Some farmers have indicated they are willing to hike wages to about R105 per day, but other farmers say they cannot afford the increase.
With Sapa*From: http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/labour/2012/11/08/protesting-farmworkers-chase-away-zille*
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