The Surplus People Project exposes a systemic exploitation of farm workers the Western Cape, hidden behind “ethical” labels, weak enforcement, and self-regulation,
What does justice mean for a woman who has worked on the same farm her entire life, only to be evicted, silenced and denied basic rights while her employer is celebrated for ‘ethical’ production?
At the Surplus People Project, we work alongside farm workers, farm dwellers and rural organisers across the Western Cape. What we are witnessing is not occasional wrongdoing or the result of a few bad apples. It is an intentional, highly coordinated system that hides violence behind corporate language.
We call it an ecosystem of injustice.
At its centre are agribusinesses that dominate global export markets in wine, fruit and grain. These companies carry certification logos and are hailed as sustainability leaders. But their profits rely on cheap labour, insecure tenure and rural communities stripped of land and power.
Around them is a protection network, not for the workers, but for those extracting wealth. Certification bodies hand out seals of approval. Government departments turn a blind eye. NGOs, often dependent on corporate funding, run feel-good projects that avoid tackling the roots of the problem. Media reports showcase high export volumes but stay silent on eviction notices.
And at the bottom are workers who cannot afford the food and fruit they harvest and produce.
We see this every week in towns like Ceres, Clanwilliam and Riebeek West. Workers are still being exposed to toxic pesticides without proper safety gear. Women face harassment. Families are evicted with no alternative accommodation, despite the Extension of Security of Tenure Act making this illegal.
Some turn to the CCMA, but that process often fails them. Women farm workers try to challenge unsafe conditions and underpayment. Department of Employment and Labour is missing. No responses from labour inspectors. Cases at the CCMA are delayed for months, blocked by procedural loopholes and institutional bias.
This is not an isolated failure. It is a feature of the system.
And it is why Casual Workers Advice Office (CWAO), with organisations like ours, is pushing for an urgent change to CCMA Rule 25. This rule currently prevents most NGOs, advice offices and movements from representing workers. It gives commissioners too much discretion. The proposed amendment is clear: workers should have the right to be represented by any person of their choice, as long as that person is not paid. It is a matter of dignity and fairness.
We are not powerless in the face of this system. And we want to acknowledge the communities, organisations and workers who are already fighting back. Every protest, every rights workshop, every report that speaks the truth: these efforts matter. But we need to sharpen the focus and deepen the strategy.
Let us be clear about what needs to change:
- Government departments must enforce the laws they already have.
- Investors must stop funding companies that harm workers and communities.
- NGOs must stop playing it safe and start naming the real causes of injustice.
- Ordinary South Africans must stop looking away and start asking if their food, wine and groceries come from exploitation and inhumanity.
- Certification schemes must stop whitewashing exploitation.
We are told these companies are “good corporate citizens”. But what does that mean when workers are poisoned by pesticides? What does it mean when a woman is thrown off land she helped cultivate for 40 years?
It is time we stop mistaking spin or should I say, exploitation for progress. This is what I call ‘award-winning injustice’. The work of dismantling this system will not come through staying silent. It will come through organising, pressure, principled disruption and exposing the injustice perpetrated by business and making the invisible visible to the customers and consumers in South Africa and internationally.
To those already in this struggle, we see you. Your fight is ours. To those not yet involved, now is the time. Comrades: this is the work of dismantling exploitative systems. It must be done.
Brian Adams is a team leader at Surplus People Project
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