GroundUp reports that about 150 women who live and work on farms marched to the offices of Distell in Stellenbosch on Wednesday, demanding that the company should take action against its suppliers that disregarded human and labour rights.

According to the Women on Farms Project (WFP), which coordinated the march, many workers on farms across the Western Cape regularly experienced labour rights violations, as well as a lack of sanitation, forceful evictions, and food insecurity. Distell produces many well-known alcoholic drinks like Savanna cider, Amarula, Klipdrift brandy and a range of wines. According to their memo, the farm women demanded that Distell prevent and mitigate labour rights violations and housing rights violations; provide WFP with a list of all its supplying farms; for the company to publicly commit to the redistribution of farmland to women farmworkers; and commit to meeting with the WFP to discuss their grievances in detail. A Distell representative accepted and signed the memo. Distell spokesperson Dennis Matsane advised that the conditions and pay at all Distell-owned farms “far exceed the prescribed standards”. Matsane added that dialogue and engagement were key to finding solutions to transform the wine industry.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Liezl Human at GroundUp

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