Mdladlana’s red card ‘gimmick’ slammed

Minister of Labour Membathisi Mdladlana incurred the wrath of the ­agricultural sphere when he gave farmers a “red card” for their alleged ­contemptuous attitudes towards their employees’ human rights, during his Worker’s Day address. Mdladlana told thousands of trade union members that his department would no longer tolerate farmworkers’ human rights violations at the hands of their employers. For farmers this added fuel to the notion of a government smear campaign against them.
General manager of TAU SA Bennie van Zyl said the minister of agriculture’s statements last year started the bad-mouthing of farmers, and Mdladlana had since jumped on the bandwagon. Van Zyl blames land restitution for deteriorating labour relations. “When the farms are given to the complainants it is the farmworkers who suffer most. Farmers have no desire to let their workforce go, but the economic implications of land restitution forces the farmer’s hand,” he explained.
Jan Bosman, managing director of the Afrikanerbond, is also convinced of a poison pen campaign: “The reality is that the ANC’s leaders and its executive, which includes minister Mdladlana, are canvassing for positions ahead of its national conference at the end of the year. Part of the campaigning is to use, and sometimes abuse, public platforms with emotional rhetoric.”
While conceding that there are isolated incidents of human rights abuse, Bosman said vague accusations and the gimmick of “issuing a red card” to farmers has worsened relations between farmers and workers.
Willie Spies, Freedom Front Plus labour spokesperson, said such unsubstantiated statements are frightening considering the hate and viciousness with which farm murders are committed. – Cornelia du Plooy