TENBOSCH – One person was hospitalised after being hit by a speeding vehicle, another was arrested for failing to stop after an accident, and yet another for attempted murder after shooting at a police officer.
This happened during a protest by unhappy Umbhaba workers, who are demanding that a trade union be allowed to come to the farm. They believe that most of their grievances will be addressed. This was revealed on Monday morning when Lowvelder’s sister publication, Corridor Gazette spoke to the protest leader and shop steward, Mr Dumisani Madonsela.
The strike started last Wednesday, with some workers not reporting for work. The Tenbosch Road which connects the Marloth Park main gate and the N4 highway was barricaded with stones. According to Madonsela a union is needed on the farm because they work under extreme circumstances.
“We are very oppressed here at Umbhaba. The company employs more than 5 000 people, but most of the workers are not using their identity documents, they are using their passports. And the passports don’t have work permits, and the law dictates that if you come from outside of the country, you should have a work permit.”
He added that they had travelled far to seek help for this issue which remained unresolved. “We have knocked at the door of the Department of Labour, we have been to Malalane and Witbank. Yes, they have arrived here but we see no way forward. As we are today he (the owner, Mr Shane Plath) does not want to sign a union angle, to allow a union on the farm.”
Madonsela added that it was only a union which could resolve all the existing problems on the farm. “There is no money, working hours are irregular, we start working at 06:00 and knock off at 17:00. But government wants us to work eight hours a day, which is 45 hours a week. So those are the things we want him to fix for us, the rest of the things the union will fix once it has come in.”
He continued that people got injured on duty and it was not possible for them to be paid because they were not working with their IDs. “A person dies and then we as employees have to each contribute R10 towards that the burial, but that person worked for a big company such as Umbhaba. Things are like this today because of him,” Madonsela said.
Another incident which he blamed on Umbhaba’s management, was a hit-and-run accident involving one of the protesters and a holidaymaker from White River, as well as the attempted murder of a police officer.
Police arrested the driver of the vehicle, and the passenger who forcefully grabbed an officer’s firearm. Madonsela concluded that it was not their wish for things to turn out the way they were on November 9, with some of Umbhaba’s land being set alight by protesters. At the time of going to print, attempts to get comment from Umbhaba were unsuccessful, and the protest was continuing.
The strike has also become more violent. The hit-and-run victim, Ms Maria Shabangu, was still recovering at the Shongwe Hospital in Tonga.
The arrested driver of the vehicle appeared in the Komatipoort Magistrate’s Court on November 10. Mr Johannes Lidder (30) was released on a fine of R2 000. His accomplice Mr Julius Lidder (38), who faces charges of attempted murder, is out on bail of R1 000, and is due back in court on December 8.
