In a voice recording sent to the Herald, the supervisor whose name is known to the publication can be heard yelling at the farmworkers and calling them the k-word. The aggrieved former farmworker, Papase Mokone, says he followed all the right channels to report the case in 2014 but nothing has ever been done about it.

“The farmer was also aware of the incidents but, instead of protecting the workers, he chose to side with the supervisor. “I complained to him numerous times but he responded: ‘If you are a boss, f**k off my farm; if you are a k****r, go back to work’,” said Mokone.

The complainant, who worked on the farm for five years, says he opened a case on 4 November 2014 after being fired for objecting to racial and derogatory remarks from the two.

“I went to the police but, to rub salt into my wounds, the black police officer asked me why I wanted to open a case against the farmer when he just called me a k****r. ‘At least he did not beat me up,’ he said.” The complainant further alleges that the working conditions at the farm were harsh. Workers started at 06:00 and finished at 19:00 without overtime. The farm is also under the spotlight after two fatal incidents involving workers this year. A 27-year-old farm worker died tragically on 3 May while trying to remove a blockage from the harvester. One of the workers alleges foul play because the deceased had earlier been in an argument with the supervisor for calling him the k-word.

Another worker, a 32-year-old man was killed earlier this year after a cow knocked him down.

The supervisor on the farm argues that those making these allegations are just after money.

“I was attacked by those workers and have appeared in court twice,” he said before hanging up the phone.

The owner of the farm, Nicky Kotze, says he currently has twenty workers on the farm and has a good relationship with them. He says the complainant has a vendetta against the supervisor.

“It is easy to make allegations against someone. Maybe that person lost his job and knew that he would easily be replaced. I always try to create jobs for the unemployed in the community. Every Monday there is always a queue of people seeking jobs at the farm.” he said.

Kotze denied uttering racist remarks to the former worker. “I cannot see why I would do so. It’s not a good way to address anyone; it is unacceptable and unlawful,” he said.

According to Kotze, the accident on the farm was reported and they explained the circumstances to the Department of Labour. While he admitted that accidents do happen on the farm, he says he is trying to improve and change things to avoid future accidents.

“We are waiting for the outcome of the investigation from the department, he said.

The Department of Labour condemns the name calling and ill-treatment of workers in the workplace and further encourages employers to abide by the labour laws in their day-to-day dealings with workers.

According to Orpa Mathabe, NW labour department provincial spokesperson, the department will not tolerate any negligence or non-compliance with the labour laws as this may lead to the death or senseless injury of workers.

“Workers who are insulted or ill-treated are advised to report such cases to the police. If they are not happy with the treatment they receive from the SAPS officials, they should ask to see the person in charge or take their complaints further to the Complaints Directorate,” she said.

Meanwhile, the investigation into the case of the worker who died while trying to remove cattle feed should be finalised by next week.

The investigation into the worker who died after being knocked down by a cow revealed that there was no negligence on the employer’s part and that the animal had reacted instinctively and had, unfortunately, killed him. NW SAPS provincial spokesperson, Col. Sabata Mokgwabone says they are still in contact with the station involved regarding the status of the cases and will comment fully after getting the facts. “We will not comment on the allegations regarding the racial slurs,” he said.

*This is a developing story; the Herald will provide more details after the investigations have been concluded.