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A typical feature of the classic Cape-Dutch farm house is the twin-pillared arch supporting the slave bell – a stark reminder of the generations of slaves many of whom were of the Muslim faith - who built the Cape wine industry during the Dutch and British colonial eras.
The early Cape vineyards were particularly closely spaced, more in keeping
with viticultural practices in the cold wine-producing countries of the
Northern Hemisphere than with practices more suited to the hotter regions
of the South. These closely planted vineyards had major political consequences
for South Africa: due to this narrow spacing the vineyards could not be
tilled by animals and therefore required manual digging. For this purpose
slaves, as the cheapest form of labour, were brought to the Cape to work
the vineyards. [69]
The society that emerged at the Cape as a result of colonial expansion
was characterized by the violent exploitation both of imported slaves
and of indigenous labour, in this way improving levels of agrarian production
and at the same time entrenching the distribution of power and wealth
along racial lines.
On May Day 1993, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997
[417] was extended
to include farm workers for the first time in South Africa. Farm workers
are now further protected by both the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995
[418] and the
Extension of Security of Tenure Act 63 of 1997 [419].
The latter gives them occupational rights on the farm where they have
worked and lived. Since 1998 the lives of farm workers have also been
positively affected by both the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998
[420] and the
Skills Development Act 97 of 1998 [421]. The “Dop” System and its legacy One legacy of slave labour on the Cape’s wine farms is the ‘dop’ system, the payment of farm workers with alcohol in place of wages, and it is a seemingly tenacious feature of South African agriculture. The “dop” system originated in the early years of colonial settlement at the Cape when indigenous people were induced, by the European farm-owners, to work on farms in return for payment with tobacco, bread and wine. This tradition of giving out wine in return for labour became entrenched in farming practice at the Cape over the next 300 years and formed an important element of the social control exercised over farm labourers.
It is of interest to note that until 1928 it was left it up to the farm owner to determine how and at what times wine would be supplied to the farm’s labourers. However, in 1928 when the Liquor Act [203] was amended, it was decided to bring about a change in the pattern of supply of wine to labourers. Section 96(2) of the Act determined how, when and how much wine could be supplied during the day. In this way the “dop” system became embodied in the law and was only officially outlawed in the 1960’s.
Yet literature on the subject records that the system is still in use on farms in the region. [244] While the formal application of the “dop” system has declined in recent years, the associated legacy of alcohol abuse continues. The adverse impacts of the “dop” system and its resultant alcohol abuse, in terms of health and development, are substantial among farming communities in the Western Cape. Indeed the Western Cape Government’s 1994 Draft Provincial Health Plan identified alcohol abuse as one of the most significant rural health priorities in a province where alcohol-related trauma, exceptionally high rates of TB, child and adult malnutrition, and the incidence of foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), are common. Foetal Alcohol Syndrome is the result of alcohol abuse during pregnancy and children born with FAS are noted for growth deficiencies, other recognisable physical symptoms, and mental retardation. The disorder is the most easily preventable form of mental retardation globally. In fact, Foetal Alcohol Syndrome is so prevalent in the Western Cape [250] that there are suggestions that the province may have the highest incidence worldwide.
In addition, there is a legacy of social problems associated with alcohol abuse, such as child abuse, violence against women and family violence. However, according to the July 2002 English version of Riette Rust’s article based on conversations with community leaders, from the wineland.co.za website community leaders in the wine industry say that the causes of current social conditions on farms are more complex than just the effect of the “dop” system. In Rust’s article, these leaders note that farm workers are on the whole excluded from the wine industry’s decision-making structures as well as from provincial transport, health, sport and educational budgets. These leaders further note that farm workers lack an established organisation through which to speak with a united voice.
Various stakeholders are tackling the legacy of the “dop” system and its related issues and below are some of the projects aimed at redressing the system: In 1995 a group of nurses from the Cape Metropolitan Council (CMC), now amalgamated into the City of Cape Town running mobile clinics in the Stellenbosch rural farming region, decided to wage war against the “dop” system because of its health implications. From this DOPSTOP was started in 1997 to fight the ‘‘dop” system and its effects. More recently the Dopstop Association, campaigning for the improvement of the social conditions of farm workers on the wine farms, has adopted a new approach whereby both farm workers and farm owners are involved in the decision making to reach set goals. These goals include the prevention of alcohol abuse and the reduction of excessive alcohol consumption by providing social alternatives and by raising awareness of the hazards associated with alcohol abuse. [301] The South African wine industry too has responded to the issue of alcohol abuse. According to an article in the Cape Argus, 17 May 2002, the industry has pledged R71 million (about $7.18 million) over ten years to support FAS research, fund alcohol-abuse prevention programmes and help vineyard workers start their own farms. [360] The South African Wine Industry
Trust [346]
has also made generous contributions to FAS research. In January 1997
the Foundation for Alcohol Related Research (FARR) was formed under the
Chairmanship of Professor Denis VIljoen at the University of the Witwatersrand.
The South African
National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependance (SANCA) have also
initiated projects, aimed at the prevention of FAS, in conjunction with
local and international bodies.
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