Child Labour Link December 2007 - Comment on Red light flashing in agriculture

The Editor
South African Child Labour Link
 
Sir/Madame
 
There are some material mistakes and misleading reporting in your article "Red light flashing on in agriculture".
 
In the case of Nkosana Mnyame there was no case before the court and therefore no finding that he was 17 at the time of the accident.In the absence of conclusive proof of his age it is reasonable to accept his age as 19 because this is the age he stated on three occassions and from his appearance, his physical development and even a photo in a newspaper it is clear that he is a young adult and never could have been only 15 at the time of the accident.
 
In the case of Joseph Bereng the HRC did not question his age but the court accepted evidence that he was 17 at the time of the accident.The farmer was also acquited by the court on both a charge of culpable homocide and negligence in terms of the OHS Act.The court inter alia based its verdict on the facts that the machine was properly guarded, marked with proper warning signs including pictures for illiterates and that the workers were properly trained to operate the machine.The farmer indeed acted like a reasonable person.
 
Furthermore the HSRC's findings were that while child labour is still prevelant in the broader agricultural sector it was notably present in subsistence and communaly owned farming operations, while hardly any evidence could be found on privately owned commercial farms.
 
Agri SA has been involved in combatting child labour for more than 18 years and has been commended by the ILO on more than one occassion for the work we are doing in this field.We are for instance insisting on stricter OHS regulations prohibiting children under 18 to work with power driven machinery but ironically we are then confronted eg with the question what a power driven machine is: is it a vacuum cleaner or is it a huge combined harvest or perhaps an electric drill and what about a wind driven mill??!!
 
Despite your last paragraph the article conveys a negative image of the commercial farmer and we must insist that you give the correct facts to your readers.
 
We, Agri SA and our iffiliates, are still committed to the total abolition of child labour on farms and those involved in the ILO's programmes and the Department of Labour, as well as the labour movement  and relevant NGO's can vouch for our commitment in this field.Articles such as this one can however seriously cloud this high level of cooperation and understanding.                                                                                                                                                                                
 
Yours sincerely
 
Kobus Kleynhans
Director: Labour Affairs
Agri SA