Download PDFThe Farm Workers Dialogue Movement was formed in the Eastern Cape. The organisation was formed out of an incident in 2016 when a manager beat one of the workers to death and left his body to rot on another farm. The organisation successfully came about because the workers were tired of the killings, the abuse and exploitation on the farms.
They were also unable to join a trade union as the manager did not want anyone joining any labour union. The workers themselves started the organisation. All the farmworkers employed on the farm membership of the organisation. This organisation focuses its membership and specifically targets the farmworkers since they do not want any worker to suffer or struggle on the farm.
In addition to the various leaders, the umbrella board contains members of the area committees. More than 100 farms are operated by the organisation, and all the leaders are located on these farms. A new executive is elected every three years. They have different campaigns that recruit members to become activists. They also go to different farms to educate workers about their rights, including the farm dwellers.
This article was submitted as part of the Imbila Yesu publication produced daily for the duration of the Winter School in 2023 (23-28 July 2023). It appeared in Edition No. 3, released on 26 July 2023. You may republish this article, so long as you credit the author and Karibu! Online (www.Karibu.org.za), and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article.
