In 2011 an investigation by Human Rights Watch into working conditions on South Africa’s wine and fruit farms drew international attention. The report documented numerous instances of human rights and labour abuses, including instances where workers faced physical abuse from farmers and were exposed to toxic chemicals. While the report was criticized by many in the agricultural sector for unfairly tarring all farmers with one brush, it played a crucial role in highlighting the prevalence of farm worker abuse in rural areas. It is clear that this violent facet of rural life has not disappeared.

The recent brutal assault of Flip Engelbrecht and his son, Flippie, by a farmer in Robertson in the Western Cape is illustration of this fact. In a Youtube video made and distributed by the family’s lawyer, Engelbrecht’s wife alleges that a wine farmer assaulted Flip and his son on two separate occasions. The brutal assault resulted in the son going deaf and developing epilepsy. During a seizure the son fell into a fire and was badly burned. Both of his hands had to be amputated. (The case will be heard in court on Wednesday.)

Labour conditions in South Africa’s wine industry have received significant attention in recent years, largely due to the rise in wine exports and grower certification schemes. Many of these are aimed at improving working conditions for farm workers (particularly those with fair trade accreditation), although some have also been criticized as marketing opportunities preventing greater transformation. Labour groups in Sweden, a major importer of South African wine, have recently called attention to labour abuses on farms and have called on the state monopoly wine agent (Systembolaget) to tighten its purchasing guidelines. The following article by Mikael Delin appeared in the daily newspaper “Dagens Nyheter” (which was translated for us and kindly reprinted here):