COSATU deplores brutal murder of farm worker

Nelson Shisane, a game farm worker at the Engedi game farm, 
near Hoedspruit, was allegedly beaten and then fed to lions by a 
farmer and three accomplices. The Congress of South African Trade 
Unions was shocked and appalled at the report on the death.

Workers and neighbours are reported as saying that Nelson Shisane 
had been in dispute with the farmer and had been dismissed. A 
police spokesperson said that there had been unsubstantiated 
reports of labour unrest on the farm.

While this incident is exceptionally brutal, the trade unions 
know that abuse of workers, ten years after the democratic 
breakthrough, is still rife. Many farmers still treat their 
workers as badly as under apartheid.

COSATU General Secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, recently joined ANC 
leaders in a tour of farms in Kwazulu Natal, and reported that 
time after time, the workers described absolute humiliation and 
abuse at the hands of farm owners. They are still treated no 
better than slaves and are frequently paid below the minimum wage 
they are entitled to.

COSATU welcomed the determination of the Department of Labour to 
crack down on farm employers who break the laws which guarantee a 
minimum wage and basic conditions of employment. The unions will 
do everything possible to help their inspectors.

"It is clear however that hundreds of farmers are flouting these 
laws and the number of inspectors is limited. That is why we need 
a massive campaign, involving the government, trade unions and 
civil society, to make sure that these abuses are stopped and the 
law is enforced" COSATU said in a statement following the death.

COSATU congratulated the police on their arrest of suspects and 
hope that they will be brought to justice without delay and, if 
found guilty, given the maximum sentence, as a lesson to other 
employers that this kind of despicable action will not be 
tolerated.

"The best tribute we can pay to the memory of Nelson Shisane is 
to make sure that never again do such atrocities take place on 
our farms", COSATU concluded its statement.