International development agency ActionAid has released a report - Rotten Fruit - criticising conditions of South African women working on Tesco-accredited farms.
The research focuses mainly on top-fruit production in the Western Cape and details wages below minimum levels for long-term casual staff, exposure to pesticides, unfit housing and lack of adequate protective gear such as boots and gloves.
The report found women that could not afford to pay for basic education for their children or school uniforms. It also revealed women and children who went hungry as wages were not enough to buy more than simply bread and butter.
Housing was also found to be inadequate with farm labourers living in cardboard shacks sleeping on plastic sheets on the floor without water or electricity.
ActionAid researchers visited seven Tesco-accredited farms and interviewed 21 workers last month.
The agency found that the voluntary approach adopted by the industry in South Africa with regard to safeguarding worker-welfare is not working adequately for all workers and long-term casual women labourers are suffering as a result.
Tesco claimed that it is working on the issue, but conceded that the situation for causal labour is not the same as for permanent employees and that much more needs to be done.
“Working with our suppliers in South Africa, Tesco is helping to transform the lives of many farm workers for the better - by ensuring proper employment conditions, upholding ethical and environmental standards, and through community projects to improve education and the role of women,” said a spokesperson. “Our suppliers comply with minimum wage legislation and provide free housing, medication and schooling, for their workers.
“We have proper audit processes in place - including independent auditors - to ensure these standards are upheld. We are confident that permanent workers employed on farms supplying Tesco are benefiting from our standards.
“South Africa faces a challenge in upholding for some temporary workers the standards that apply to permanent workers. It is wrong to link this issue directly to importers, particularly those like Tesco who apply and enforce high standards. Like gangmasters in the UK, the issue can best be tackled through grower, supplier, government, business and NGO co-operation. This cooperation is already happening in the South African wine sector, and we are happy to play our part with others to achieve progress in the fruit sector.”
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