Manus
How wine gets to the table is not a straightforward journey. It’s often a journey of real hardships and a journey of deprivation. It’s a journey that is filled with many, many challenges for the farm worker
The situation from 1994 has got worse. After apartheid it’s worse. More than a million farm workers have been evicted from South African farms.
You still have that: “you are worth less than me, you are my employee and you shall do what I tell you, despite what the law says.
My dream is like every ones dream. To have a house, a car and a proper home with the wife and everything. To have a proper job who can pay you a living salary, that you can know that at the end of your life, your family will benefit out of it, you know.
(…) often farm workers are denied the most basic conditions of labor: The right to speak to your boss, the right to join a union, the right to demand overtime
Titelskilt: BITRE DRUER
Når dugen trækkes over Taffelbjerget i Sydafrika er det ifølge legenden en kamp mellem det gode og det onde.
Her i vinprovinsen, Western Cape udspiller der sig en anden kamp.
For de Skandinaviske forbrugere er begejstrede for den gode og billige vin.
Importen bare stiger og stiger.
Siden 2006 er importen af sydafrikansk vin steget med 78 % i Danmark.
I Sverige, er Sydafrikansk vin på 3. pladsen over mest solgt vin
Mere end 50 millioner liter vin fra Sydafrika nydes her i Norden
Vi rejser til Sydafrika for at undersøge, om dén vin vi køber så meget af, er produceret under ordentlige forhold for arbejdere og for miljøet.
Og der bliver holdt godt øje med os. Samme dag, som vi ankommer på vores tredje reportagerejse til Sydafrika, rundsendes denne besked til mere end 130 aktører fra vinindustrien:
ADVARSEL:
Vi er blevet gjort opmærksomme på at der er en international mand og kvinde der besøger vingårde (…)
De stiller u-etiske spørgsmål til arbejderne og vil ændre vinklen til noget negativt.
Vær forsigtig og undgå dem hvor I kan
Hver morgen mellem seks og halv syv, hentes hundredevis af vinarbejdere i udkanten af byen Robertson, ca. 150 kilometer nord for Cape Town.
Mange af arbejderne har tidligere boet inde på selve vingården, men bor i dag i slumbyer, langt fra vingården. Andre er migrantarbejdere fra nabolande som Lesotho og Zimbabwe
Ifølge loven, har alle arbejdere ret til at melde sig ind i fagforening. Alle har krav på den fastsatte minimumsløn og alle skal tilbydes et godt og sikkert arbejdsmiljø.
Hertil kommer, at ejerne af vingårdene skal følge en række etiske og sociale krav som de skandinaviske forhandlere har stillet.
I vores politik for etisk handel stiller vi en række overordnede krav, som skal efterleves af alle Coops leverandører – danske såvel som udenlandske.
Hvis man laver en fejl eller ikke lever op til vores regler , så går vi i dialog med dem.
Vi smider dem ikke pr. automatik ud – det kunne vi nemt gøre – men vi tror på, at man skaber mere udvikling gennem dialog og derfor siger vi:
Hvad vil I gøre ved for at få løst det her – og så skal de forpligte sig til det
Hvis de så fortsætter med at lave fejlene og bliver ved med at falde i gryden, ja så ryger de ud.
Sub: Jens Juul Nielsen
Informationsdirektør
Coop
Den organisation, som skal fungere som de nordiske forhandleres øjne og ører i Sydafrika hedder Wieta. Det er Wieta som skal sikre en etisk og bæredygtig produktion.
I dag har knapt halvdelen af de 3.300 vingårde og producenter i Sydafrika underskrevet, at de vil overholde de etiske regler, som organisationen, WIETA har beskrevet.
Overholder de dem, kan de sætte dette mærke på deres vin.
Men kun hvis de overholder reglerne:
”There is a contract, that the winery need to undersign and the conditions in that contract states very clearly that if a site certification lackses
…that that wine is no more eligible to carry the seal on the bottle.
Sub: Linda Lipparoni
Direktør Wieta
I Sydafrika bor og lever mere end 100.000 arbejdere på selve vingården.
Langt fra offentlighedens søgelys.
Vi vil tale med dem og se hvordan de har det, men flere vingårde siger nej.
”(…) dit ønske om at få adgang til Leeuwenkuil sammen med en undersøgende journalist er hermed afvist.
Notér venligst at det er en kriminel handling at bevæge sig ind på privat område og at Hr. W Dreyer forbeholder sig ret til at rejse en sag”
Vi har fået oplysninger om, at der foregår alvorlige brud på de etiske regler og at loven brydes på Leeuwenkuil-gården
Derfor tager vi på uanmeldt besøg.
Leeuwenkuil er én af de vingårde, som leverer vin til det nordiske marked.
Sådan her præsenterer ejeren, Willie Dreyer sig selv og sin familie på gården
Et billede, der ikke stemmer overens med, hvordan forholdene er for arbejderne på Leeuwenkuil.
”Så nu blinker den ikke mere…”
Vi har været nødt til at anvende små, diskrete kameraer for at kunne dokumentere forholdene inde på de private vingårde.
Af hensyn til arbejdernes sikkerhed har vi flere tilfælde valgt at skjule deres identitet
I have been working on the Leeuwenkuil form for 15 or 16 years.
I work in the vineyards
We get R105 per day (ca. 50 DKK)
Have you said that to the farmer, that the minimum wage is 128? (60 DKK)
We have to be satisfied with what we get.
Sub: Arbejder
Leeuwenkuil
Det som den kvindelige arbejder her fortæller om, er reelt en ulovlig underbetaling
Og vi hører det samme fra de mandlige arbejdere
And you work 12 hours every day and you are paid 130 rands for 12 hours?
Yes
So no overtime?
No overtime
Så måske er dét grunden til, at ejeren af Leeuwenkuil-gården ikke vil have besøg af journalister.
They don’t want you to see the lie. And you will see more than that lie. You will see people that looks like slaves …
Sub: Trevor Christians,
Generalsekretær,
CSAAWU (Union for farm workers):
Vi er kommet i besiddelse af en lang række lønsedler fra arbejderne på Leeuwenkuil-gården, som vi viser til næstformanden for fagforeningen CSAAWU
What we see here is that it’s about 80 percent deductions – so this deduction exceeds violations of the South African laws.
All the deductions on housing and electricity must not exceed 20 % meaning that if you buy food or any other expenditures – so this combined thing must not exceed 20.
Sub: Karel Swart
Vicegenralsekretær, CSAAWU
Vi ville gerne interviewe ledelsen fra Leeuwenkuil-gården, men de vil ikke tale med os
(…) vi vil ikke kommentere eller tillade interview der hviler på udokumenterede påstande
Direktøren henviser i stedet til, at vingården er godkendt af mærkningsordningen, Wieta, og, at han ikke vil diskutere arbejdsforholdene på Leeuwenkuil med journalister.
Today the Managing Director, Kobus De Kock from Leeuwenkuil wrote to me saying that off course all our laborers from Leeuwenkuil has freedom of expression They are free to talk to anyone?
It is a total lie. It’s a total lie. I can’t tell you how many workers there that has been dismissed from Leeuwenkuil.
Sub: Karel Swart
Vicegeneralsekretær, CSAAWU
Når arbejderne på Leeuwenkuil ville mødes med deres fagforening, var det ikke kun ejeren som blev indblandet. Ifølge fagforeningslederen blev også politiet tilkaldt…
What we normally see when we will enter the farm, he closes down the gates that makes it impossible for us to come in and he threaten us. In the past he phoned the police and tell the police – as soon as he see me on the farm – he phone the police and the police is following me
Sub: Karel Swart
Systembolaget og de nordiske opkøbere kender udmærket til vingården, Leeuwenkuil.
Gennem flere år har bl.a. Systembolaget foretaget inspektioner på gården
Og så sent som i marts måned 2016 var hele ledelsen fra Systembolaget på besøg på Leeuwenkuil-gården
Og besøget gik tilsyneladende over al forventning.
Sådan her skriver vicedirektøren fra Systembolaget:
Jeg vil gerne udtrykke min dybfølte og varme tak for at modtage os under vores nylige besøg I Sydafrika.
Vi værdsætter den åbne dialog og lyttede med stor interesse til præsentationen af Leeuwenkuil og jeres arbejde om bæredygtighed
Venlig hilsen
Marie Nygren
Jeg har læst Marie Nygrens mail og jeg mener, at det var et høfligt og godt brev.
Jeg mener faktisk, at et møde jo kan være en positiv overraskelse – selvom der er misforhold på stedet.
Det er jo årsagen til, at vi er I Sydafrika og at vores vicedirektør tager til lande som Sydafrika er jo netop, at det er et land med store problemer.
Sub:
Ida Ingerö
Souschef
Presse og Samfundsrelationer
Systembolaget
Karel Swart:
Either Systembolaget is blind or deaf. You can’t see what is going on in Leeuwenkuil – or you can’t hear what is going on on Leeuwenkuil.
You see, these pay slips are legal documents. It’s legal in terms of the law
It is a clear violation of the South African laws.
It’s a clear violation of the ethical standards of Wieta.
It’s a clear violation of Systembolaget’s ethical code
Sub: Karel Swart, Deputy Secretary General, CSAAWU
Jeg kan ikke sige i dag, at der er tale om en ulovlig løn. Men det er noget vi må se nærmere på
Leeuwenkuil er godkendt af mærkningsordningen, Wieta og af vinindustriens arbejdsgiverorganisationer
Så Leeuwenkuil-vinen – ligesom alle andre eksportvine fra Sydafrika – har også dette mærke på flaskehalsen.
Og hos mærkningsordningen, Wieta fremgår det, at vinen fra Leeuwenkuil er ”retfærdig” i forhold til arbejdstagerrettigheder
Men i stedet for at evt. at straffe en vingård, der har brudt de samme etiske regler som de har underskrevet, mener Wieta, at man skal tale om tingene:
The approach that Wieta takes during a process of a mediation for example if we find that there is a violation on a particular farm, and we investigate the violation, the producers – along with stakeholders involved in that particular incident that need to through a process of mediation.
That process of mediation, Wieta believes needs to be a developmental process where you put all the stakeholders together to try and resolve the particular issue, identify the root course of what that issue is and then seek to restore the relationship on the farm.
Sub: Linda Lipparoni
Efter vi er kommet i besiddelse af de mange lønsedler fra Leeuwenkuil-gården, møder vi igen Linda Lipparoni fra Wieta:
Look, this is very serious. We will have to take it up and I’m glad that we now have copies.
We have to take it up with Leeuwenkuil.
Hver anden weekend, når arbejderne har fået løn, strømmer de ind til byerne for at købe ind til de næste 14 dage.
I alkoholforretningen og rundt om i gaderne drikkes der tæt. Flere af dem er unge, gravide kvinder.
De store mængder alkohol, har givet Sydafrika en uhyggelig verdensrekord:
In South Africa 10 % of our communities that we have evaluated thus far have foetal alcohol spectrum disorders which puts their levels 10 times higher than 1. World countries such as Denmark
Sub: Denis Viljoen, Chairman, Foundation for Alcohol Related research
Det massive alkoholforbrug har historiske rødder.
When the colonists first came to the Cape – the Dutch colonists – they introduced alcohol as a form of payment. It was in fact not only a payment. It was also a form of social control (….) and that is the DOP-system – so called
Sub: Leslie London
Professor
Public Health Medicine
University of Cape Town
At betale sine arbejdere med vin i stedet for penge, blev forbudt i Sydafrika i 1960. Men DOP-systemet lever i dag videre i andre former, mener Leslie London:
So what happens today largely is that if workers are alcohol dependent, the farmer will continue to supply them with alcohol and sell it to them cheaply and sell it to them on credit
There are still some conservative farmers out there who think nothing of our workers, and who want to keep them into the enslavement to alcoholism, so that they can have them there as their slaves, basically.
Sub: Henriette Abrahams,
Generalsekretær, Sikhula Sonke,
Tidl. bestyrelsesmedlem, Wieta
Dette er Robyn. En pige på 10 år.
Robyn er hjerneskadet fordi hendes biologiske mor drak store mængder alkohol under sin graviditet.
Robyn was a year and 11 months when my brother brought her to me. She was in a terrible state…..
Sub: Sonja, Adoptivmor
The cardinal features of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome, are firstly: The central nervous system is severely damaged. It’s the most toxic substance known to mankind that has ever been produced massively, and that’s alcohol.
So drinking alcohol affects the foetus, the unborn baby, very, very severely, particularly in the central nervous system.
Sub: Denis Viljoen, FARR
Forskning har vist, at omkring 60.000 børn i Sydafrika hvert år fødes med det man kalder FAS, Føtalt Alkohol Syndrom
Kirsty Donald fra Universitetet i Cape Town har i årevis forsket i hjerneskader som følge af alkohol–misbrug under graviditeten:
…) there are some hot spots areas in South Africa where the spectrum is as common as in one in five (…) in certain areas ….it’s one of the highest in the world.
Sub: Dr. Kirsty Donald,
Lektor
The Red Cross Memorial Children´s Hospital
Cape Town
A lot of the young mommies, they still drink. So I tell them, you know while they are pregnant that this is the product.
Sonja, Adoptivmor
Tom: Robyn is ten years old, but mentally, where does she belong?
Robyn is probably closer to a 4 or 5 year old when it comes to her cognitive development…
But she struggles with impulsivity and hyperactivity – and doesn’t always realize dangers that she is putting herself in and as a result of that. So she needs a lot of adult care and supervision in her life.
Sub: Kirsty Donald
I am pregnant.
Congratulations
3 months
But do you know, it can be dangerous to your child, if you drink, the fetus?
No, that doesn’t, I’s not dangerous or nothing.
I want to drink. I like to drink
Sub: Susanna
Former worker
At dyrke vin, kræver ofte brugen af sprøjtegift. Mens druerne modner på vinstokkene i perioden september til januar, bliver der brugt mange sprøjtegifte.
How many times do you think you will spray every year?
Wine you spray from starting of September/October and it is 6 – 9 times
6 to 9 times?
Yes
Sub:
Forhandler af sprøjtegift
Anything like that is toxic. It’s designed to kill a weed or an insect. And the grade of the toxicity. The problem with most pesticides is that we might understand the acute toxicity well, but we understand the chronic long term effect much more poorly.
Leslie London
Mange af pesticiderne man anvender i Sydafrika er for længst forbudt at anvende i Norden
Under vores rejser, ser vi ingen arbejdere, der er beskyttet mod de farlige kemikalier.
Ifølge lovgivningen, skal alle, der arbejder med pesticider anvende beskyttelsesudstyr, masker, støvler osv.
Shirley Davids, der er lokal rådgiver for fagforeningen CSAAWU, mener, at sprøjtegiftene er skyld i mange sygdomme blandt arbejderne.
The health issues. It’s not good for people because they are spraying pesticides. The tractor is buzzing on this side; the people are working on that side. And I know of a woman that looks like she’s burnt because of pesticides, her skin is getting off, she’s getting pink of that.
Sub: Shirley Davids
Juridisk assistent
CSAAWU Union
If you are not working safely and if you are not aware of the risks you will be exposed and you might develop acute toxicity and you might develop these long-term problems.
Certainly dizziness is a very common symptom. It’s a symptom of a class of pesticides. These are the Organophosphates such as Chlorpyrifos which is widely used.
Sub: Leslie London
Netop Chlorphyrifos er forbudt at anvende i forbindelse med produktion af fødevarer i Danmark, Sverige og Norge.
It’s an obligation for any employer in South Africa to ensure surveillance and monitoring of workers. To ensure that they are trained and to ensure that they understand what they are doing. The Occupational Health and Safety Act is very clear and it’s actually quite a strong piece of legalization. The problem is enforcement.
Leslie London mener ikke, at myndighederne er grundige nok
So the Department of Labor hardly go to any farm to inspect – unless there is somebody who has died.
Have you had any training in using this?
No
No training
Hverken i lovgivningen eller i de etiske regler hos organisationen, Wieta er det tilladt at anvende sprøjtegiftene uden træning og det nødvendige sikkerhedsudstyr.
Not to be rude, Linda. But are you doing your work properly?
Tom, it’s a really, really important question and I think the fundamentals of Wieta is that NGO’s that are working in these regions and trade unions that are working in regions – they have a fundamental role to play to be our eyes and ears and to bring any of those violations or bad labor practices to our attention.
And I’d be very interested to find out which farms they were, because we will clearly follow up on those farms – but unless we actually have the feedback – and I think the challenge is that workers often are not comfortable enough to give that feedback.
Sub: Linda Lipparoni
I højsæsonen når høsten er i gang, ser man ofte fastansatte arbejdere side om side med en stadig større gruppe migrant-arbejdere fra lande som Lesotho, Zimbabwe og Tanzania
De fleste migrantarbejdere bor som Thaolang fra Lesotho. Ansigtet har hun smurt ind i en tyk creme fordi hun mener, at det kan beskytte hende bedre
It’s because I want to protect the skin from the pesticides on the farm it’s not because of the sun, but because of the chemicals.
There are many other workers who also is affected by the pesticides.
We get allergies and rashes.
How much are you paid for a week
Sometimes 200 or 300 (95 – 145 DKK)
But if I divide your weekly salary – let’s say 300 Rands – you only get around 60 Rands (28 DKK) a day?
But do you know that this is below the minimum wage?
Most of the workers are paid by piece – almost all of them
I know it’s not legal, but what can I do. On all the farms it’s piece work.
It is very hard work, and I have to be very quick if I want to earn 60 Rands (28 DKK) a day
Sub: Thaolang Qhobosheane
Vinarbejder
Netop det stigende antal migrantarbejdere, der er desperate for at få jobs, presser lønnen ned til langt under den lovbefalede mindsteløn.
De fleste får mindre end tre kroner i timen, fortæller James, der er feltarbejder for fagforeningen BAWSI.
The migrant workers are mostly paid 55 rand a day. (26 DKK)
And the normal wage is?
The normal wage is 120 rand at the moment (57 DKK)
Sub: James Cornelius
Field worker
BAWSI Union
Også hos Wieta er man klar over de mange problemer med løndumping og dårlige leve- og arbejdsforhold.
In terms of current legislation that has been tabled, there is currently a very, very contested debate, because there is a lot of exploitation that happens within these very structures – particular among the most vulnerable workers and that’s woman
Sub: Linda Lipparoni
My name is Francina. I’m 23 years old and I’m from Lesotho.
I struggled in Lesotho.
There are no jobs?
Francina Mabolokang: No
Sub: Francina Mabolokang
Vinarbejder
Francina fortæller, at hun ikke arbejder for én farm, men for et privat firma, der finder forskellige farme og jobs til hende. Ganske som langt de fleste andre migrant-arbejdere, vi møder
Do you have family back in Lesotho?
Yes, I have family and children back in Lesotho.
I really miss them, especially the children.
Dette er én af de mest populære vine fra Sydafrika.
Robertson Winery er blandt de største eksportører af vin fra Sydafrika.
Overalt i Norden kan man finde vin fra Robertson Winery
De enorme mængder druer kommer fra 35 forskellige, mindre vingårde i området.
Alle er medejere af kooperativet, Robertson Winery
Vinene fra Robertson Winery er også godkendt af organisationen, Wieta, som en bæredygtig og etisk korrekt produceret vin.
Dette er vingården La Colline – én af Robertson Winery’s mange leverandører og medejere
My name is Sarah Windvogel and I worked on La Colline farm for 20 years. When we joined the union and the strikes started, and we were not supposed to be part of a union.
But we joined the union anyway and that is when the fight with the farmer started.
Sub: Sarah Windvogel, former worker
La Colline
I dette brev – sendt til Systembolaget i Sverige – helt tilbage i 2013 – gør organisationen, Ethical Wine Trade Campaign opmærksom på, at der er noget galt på vingården, La Colline.
My name is Samuel Windvogel. I lived and workes on La Colline farm for 27 years.
This is also were I met and after a while she moved in
That’s how we got connected and married there.
Actually I was born on this farm as well as my children were.
We raised the children and send them to school, and we actually also got married on this farm.
The farmer treated us like pigs so I joined the union
But the farmer didnt like that. And he would clean the farm from union members
Sub: Samuel Windvogel
Former worker
La Colline
I dag bor Sarah og Samuel Windvogel i udkanten af byen Robertson – uden adgang til vand eller toilet.
That bush. This one. That’s my toilet.
You can see how my house looks like…
How many people are you here?
Five plus two. Seven
You are seven people in this house?
Yes!
You don’t have any water here?
No water.
No water?
Just water in those three.
We are cooking food from this….
Ejeren af La Colline-gården vil ikke medvirke i dette program, men han fastholder overfor os at ingen arbejdere er blevet udsat fra deres bolig
Under Apartheid-regimet boede langt de fleste vinarbejdere inde på selve vingården,
Efter det første demokratiske valg i 1994, indførte man en reform der pålagde ejerne af vingårdene ansvaret for arbejdernes bolig-, og arbejdsforhold.
Som et modtræk fra ejernes side blev mange af dem fyret, men genansat som løsarbejdere – uden ret til en bolig
Senere indførtes dog en ny lov, der gav de arbejdere som har boet og arbejdet på en vingård fra før 1997 ret til at bo der resten af livet, hvis de havde arbejdet på vingården i mere end 10 år, var over 60 år eller nedslidt.
La Colline er godkendt af Wieta. Og ifølge Sarah, har Wieta tidligere besøgt vingården:
I can remember when I came from work. Zandra came with WIETA with an overseas guest.
I was busy making food on the open fire and she asked why I am making food outside.
I told her there was no electricity.
The foreign man wanted to see my house, but they (WIETA) didn’t like that
The foreign man went in and saw the kitchen and the toilet and asked how can we eat like this?
…and then I said we have been without electricity for about six months
Sub: Sara Windvogel
Tidligere arbejder, La Colline
Trevor Christians er medstifter af fagforeningen CSAAWU og har været generalsekretær i de sidste 7 år. Han fortæller, at de nordiske opkøbere udemærket er klar over, at vinproducenterne bryder lovgivningen og de etiske regler:
They know. They know. It’s not just us that told them so. The Human Rights Watch have told them so. The ILO report told them so, the government report have told them so.
So they are quite aware of the conditions on the majority of South African farms.
Sub: Trevor Christians
Secretary-General
CSAAWU
Vi ser – skridt for skridt – at det bliver bedre. Systembolaget har en meget tæt tilstedeværelse i Sydafrika. Det går ikke hurtigt, men det går i den rigtige retning.
Skulle vi se at der hos en vinfarm eller blandt de svenske importører ikke findes en vilje til at gå fremad, så er vi ikke bange for at opsige aftalerne.
Men det har I ikke gjort endnu i Sydafrika?
Nej, det har vi ikke, for vi ser fremskridt – og det er det vigtige for os.
Sub: Ida Ingerö
Souschef
Presse og Samfundsrelationer
Systembolaget
Men også fagforeningen, Sikhula Sonke, der primært organiserer kvindelige arbejdere, og som også har været en del af bestyrelsen i mærkningsordningen, Wieta – har advaret Systembolaget adskillige gange.
Johan Larsson is the South African buyer of Systembolaget, so he would be the South African representative coming three or four times every year he comes and purchases wine or taste what’s the new wine and so forth for the Swedish market for Systembolaget…..
We are not being heard. We are not being heard.
We are talking and talking and talking but nothing has changed from Systembolaget’s side.
Sub: Henriette Abrahams, Generalsekretær
Sikhula Sonke
Tidl. bestyrelsesmedlem, WIETA
Hverken Johan Larsson fra Systembolaget eller direktøren for vingården La Colline, der leverer druer til Robertson Winery, vil medvirke i denne udsendelse
“Interview vil ikke være muligt (…) Vi distancerer os fra disse falske beskyldninger og har ikke yderligere kommentarer”
Deneco Dube er tidligere vinarbejder. Nu forsøger han at organisere arbejderne i lokalområdet
On many farms. On many, many farms farmers don’t like unions, even though it’s a constitutional right for workers to join a union.
They don’t like unions on their farms.
So when workers join the union for the first time, according to law, you have to send the list of union members to the farm.
The law gives them 30 days. Within the 30 days,
you will search for and find the leader, or someone speaking out on the behalf of workers.
Even if it’s lawful, or if it’s unlawfully he dismiss them.
He believes that, when you cut the leaderships head, the whole body is nothing anymore.
Sub: Deneco Dube,
Juridisk rådgiver
CSAAWU
Hos mærkningsordningen, Wieta henviser man til, at det er den enkelte vingård, der er ansvarlig for, at tingene er i orden.
Individually each farm and each cellar is committed to ethical trade.
As an organization one cannot be held responsible for the day to day behavior that would happen on a farm.
Sub: Linda Lipparoni
Direktør
Wieta
Karel Swart, CSAAWU
You see Wieta is a very toothless organization. There have been many complaints to Wieta. There were complaints as far as five or seven years ago….
Wieta is basically the mouthpiece of the bosses. I can say: Wieta is not there for the workers. Wieta does not play a neutral role.
Wieta are not supporting the workers. Wieta are not enforcing ethical standards.
All what Wieta do is to collaborate with the farmers and deny that the farmers ever do the things
Ikke langt fra La Colline ligger vingården, Eilandia – Også her plukkes der druer til Robertson Winery.
Her har kontrolorganet, Wieta – og dermed de danske og svenske forhandlere – også sagt god for, at arbejdsforholdene er i orden
Men vi begynder at ane et mønster.
Did you use mask and gloves?
Yes, we had mask but it was not comfortable to wear. It makes you very hot.
Did you ever get sick?
Itching, chest problems and breathing problems.
Sub: Edwin Plaatjies
Tidligere arbejder
Eilandia.
Og klager man over beskidt drikkevand eller mangel på løn, kan det – ifølge arbejderne – få store personlige konsekvenser.
I have raised my concerns about the water problems on the farm.
I said that we should treat each other with respect.
The farmer must have the same respect for me as I have for him.
He told me that if I’m not going to do what he says, I must resign and leave the farm
Sub: Edwin Plaatjies
Også Edwins kollega fortæller at han blev fyret fra Eilandia, fordi han havde forlangt at få sine overarbejdspenge udbetalt.
I was a waterman on the Eilandia farm.
Edwin and myself didn’t strike, we only asked for our overtime.
That’s all we asked for. The farmer dismissed us – just like that.
Sub: Tidligere abejder
Eilandia:
People say that Apartheid is gone, but if you go into our rural areas, you will find that Apartheid is still very much alive. (…)
We still have assaults. We still have Union bashing.
You still have atrocious bosses, or employers, treating their people still as slaves.
You still have that: “you’re worth less than me, you are my employee and you shall do what I tell you, despite what the law says.
Sub: Henriette Abrahams
Generalsekretær
Sikhula Sonke
Tidl. bestyrelsesmedl. Wieta
People can’t hold someone who sees something that is wrong, because if I see that something is wrong, I speak that it is wrong and it can’t be done like that. You must know your working rights, even on farms.
But at a farm you can’t say ‘this is right, and this is wrong’. You can’t say, or you will be fired.
They don’t speak to you, they say: ‘You come to politic here to my people.
Get out of my farm.’ You must do exactly what they say to you.
Sub: Siyabuela
Arbejder
I organisationen, TCOE, der bl.a. arbejder for at styrke arbejdernes ret til eje sin egen jord og forbedre uddannelserne for de fattigste, beskriver Mercia Andrews vinens vej fra jord til bord
How wine gets to the table is not a straight-forward journey. It’s often a journey of real hardships and a journey of deprivation.
It’s a journey that is filled with many, many challenges for the farm worker. In many cases they are deprived of a social life. They live in the remote areas, there is no public transport for them to do anything over the weekends, or in the evenings, to go and see a film, just the most basic of social things is a challenge.
Then the wages that they earn; they earn peanuts, they can barely survive.
Sub: Mercia Andrews
Direktør
TCOE
Vi møder også ”Margareth”, som er gravid i 6 måned.
I Sydafrika er det – ganske som i Norden – ulovligt at opsige en kvinde blot fordi hun er gravid.
When he got to the farm he said that the women’s work is unsatisfactory and we don’t pick enough grapes.
If we can’t work properly we must go home. So I told him but I’m pregnant and does not expect me to lift the heavy bins.
He told me to stay at home if i cant work anymore
Sub: “Margareth”
Tidl. arbejder
Eilandia
Ifølge vore oplysninger arbejder ”Margareth” ikke længere på vingården.
Da kontrol organisationen, Wieta besøgte Eilandia-farmen var det i stedet forbedringerne, som havnede i fokus
From the conversation that we had with the workers they had said to us that there had been huge improvements. That a lot of the grievances that they previously had with management, had been addressed and that they felt that the process they had regarding the communication was in fact working
And that was the feedback that we had.
We have a man there. He was dismissed because he was outspoken to the farmer and said that the drinking water was dirty?
You know: That didn’t get raised among the workers. We asked them if there was still issues that they wanted to raise – which is why the committee actually would have the opportunity to meet the workers and certainly those issues weren’t raised.
Sub: Linda Lipparoni
He dismissed a lot of workers – so when workers complaint about dirty water and health and safety – then he victimize the workers. He intimidates workers. He dismisses workers and so on.
So how it is possible that a person that is not allowing freedom of speech, a person that is in violation of the ethical code – how is it possible that he serves on the board of Robertson Winery.
Sub: Karel Swart
Vi forsøger at få et svar fra ejeren af Eilandia, Mechau Viljoen, men han har ikke besvaret
vores henvendelser.
Den unge mand, som blev fyret fordi han have krævet at få sin overtidsbetaling udbetalt, er – ifølge vores oplysninger – stadig uden fast arbejde
Dagrofa er landets tredje største købmandskæde. Og Dagrofa er forhandler af vin fra Robertson Winery.
Vi har forelagt kritikken fra bl.a. Eilandia og La Colline for Dagrofa, men de ønsker ikke at stille op til et interview.
I stedet har de sendt os denne mail.
Det er Dagrofas klare holdning, at vore leverandører naturligvis skal overholde de regler, som fremgår af vore samhandelsaftaler. (…)
Derfor iværksættes en såkaldt ”tredje part undersøgelse”, ligesom vi har besluttet øjeblikkeligt at suspendere indkøb af vin fra Robertson Winery. (…)
Når resultatet af undersøgelsen foreligger, vil vi tage beslutning om, hvorvidt vine fra Robertson Winery vil indgå i vort sortiment i fremtiden.
Trods importstoppet kunne man dog fortsat finde vin fra Robertson Winery i de, af Dagrofa’s butikker vi besøgte efter modtagelsen af mailen.
Vi besøger endnu en vingård, der bl.a. leverer vin til Fakta-butikkerne, som ejes af Coop.
Én af leverandørerne til Simonsvlei er vingården Firwoods.
Her møder vi en række arbejdere, der fortæller om nedslidte huse og toiletter der er aflåst, så de må bruge vinmarkerne.
Last week Wieta was here.
We told them about the problems, but they didn’t come back.
We have no toilets.
And they visited this house?
Yes, they visited this house – only this house
Sub: Arbejdere
Firwoods
Wieta was there – the health and safety inspection They went into one house. They talked to two labours, and they walked away and they spend six minutes?
Who told you that
The workers
Because there are major non-compliances on houses.
You have to tell me why an inspection can only last for six minutes?
That inspection did not last for six minutes.
There were several houses that were investigated and there are major-non compliances on the housing
So what is going to happen now?
They have to start repairing that.
It’s part of their corrective action plan.
Sub: Linda Lipparoni
Vi har lavet den seneste kontrol her i foråret af alle tre leverandører og de to største var i absolut grøn og den ene var gul på nogle punkter, og der har vi meget konkret lavet en aftale om, hvordan de vil løse det, sådan at de fra høsten 2017 kommer i grøn – også hos deres underleverandører .
Så I har ikke oplevet de røde lygter?
Det kunne vi godt gøre og hvis det så året efter er gult så er vi tilfredse, og bliver det ved med at være rødt så stopper festen. Men det, der er vigtig for os det er: Kan vi gå ind og påvirke udviklingen i nogle lande hvor forholdene er helt anderledes end i Danmark – i en positiv retning
Sub: Jens Juul Nielsen
Informationsdirektør
Coop
Vi har sendt detaljerede spørgsmål om det vi har set og hørt på vingårdene til samtlige gårde der omtales i dette program.
Men ingen af ejerne har ønsket at medvirke.
Så vi fortsætter til Robertson Winery for at tale med direktøren, Bowen Botha.
Også han har fået samtlige spørgsmål tilsendt.
Good morning.
The questions I raise in my film is very serious allegations against Robertson Winery.
And I think that it’s very important that Robertson Winery get’s a chance to speak.
Yes, I know that Bowen discussed it with our members yesterday, but I think it’s best to speak to Bowen about it.
Til sidst får vi hjælp.
Wieta’s direktør Linda Lipparoni får arrangeret, at vi kan møde Robertson Winerys direktør Bowen Botha og Eksportdirektøren, Geoff Harvey i Wieta’s lokaler.
Oh, hi,
Bowen Botha
Tom Heinemann
Pleased to meet you
Pleased to meet you
Men det går ikke helt som planlagt.
We are certainly not going to talk to you on camera.
We can have a chat and we can talk to you on issues in the process and that sort of thing.
But we are certainly not going on camera.
But I was told Yesterday that you wanted to participate in an interview?
No, No, No, No
Can you turn it off, Lotte?
Yes, I’m not filming
The simple reality is that you want to paint the entire industry in a bad light.
That is your motivation.
Direktørerne fra Robertson Winery ved, at vi har talt med flere arbejdere der har fortalt om ulovlige opsigelser og udsætninger. Om beskidt drikkevand og om farlige arbejdsforhold.
Men vi kan ikke udlevere navnene af frygt for at de skal miste deres arbejde.
I’m telling you now. You are wrong.
We have the evidence you don’t have.
You made allegations without the proof.
We will provide the truth
Will you say that on camera?
You come and do the investigation but without giving us the opportunity to give you the truth.
But you don’t want to say that on camera?
No, I don’t want to shake your filthy hand. You are a disgusting piece of rubbish
Mødet med de to topchefer fra Robertson Winery og Vinimark blev overværet af Wieta’s direktør, Linda Lipparoni.
Kort tid efter sendte hun os denne mail:
”(…) mine medarbejdere og jeg er stadig chokerede over hvad der skete i fredags og forfærdede over den respektløse og grove måde som du og din kone blev behandlet af Hr. Harvey og Hr. Botha (…)
Den hårde tone under mødet med de to topchefer får bestyrelsen for Wieta til at reagere. Det viser en række e-mails, som vi er kommet i besiddelse af.
Formanden Mzukisi Mooi, der er operativ direktør for organisationen, Centre for Rural Legal Studies skriver
Kære alle
Jeg er paf ud over det forståelige … og rystet – for at sige det mildt (…)
Bestyrelsen for Wieta er sammensat af 9 personer. De fire repræsenterer arbejdersiden.
De fem øvrige bestyrelsesmedlemmer kommer fra Vinindustrien.
Én af dem er næstformanden, Donald Mouton, der repræsenterer vinproducenterne.
Også han blander sig i debatten:
Kære alle
Siddende ved velmente rundbordssamtaler med Systembolaget, forbedrer desværre ikke situationen for mange landarbejdere .
For mig personligt virker det som om moderne slaveri praktiseres på mange gårde og at arbejderne næsten opfattes som arbejdsgiverens “ejendom”.
Også det daværende bestyrelsesmedlem, Henriette Abrahams fra fagforeningen, Sikhula Sonke svarer:
( … ) Vi har her et helt klart tilfælde af en magt-ubalance, og hvor producenterne – især dem med mange penge – synes at tro, at de ejer Wieta som deres markedsførings-værktøj .
En del af bestyrelsen for Wieta stiller altså spørgsmålstegn ved deres egen indsats. Alligevel fastholder Wieta udadtil, at arbejderne behandles godt hos Robertson Winery’s mange leverandører og medejere.
At arbejderne i den sydafrikanske vinindustri ulovligt underbetales, udsættes for farlige sprøjtegifte eller bliver fyret for at protestere over forholdene, er ikke et problem.
Vingårdene fortsætter med at sætte det attraktive mærke fra Wieta på flaskerne
Are there wineries or farms that has been – literally speaking – kicked out of Wieta.
Have you have any incidents of that?
We haven’t had incidents of were – as you say – wineries have been kicked out.
I think it’s important, Tom to understand that this is not necessary the approach that Wieta will take.
For arbejderne i Western Cape-provinsen i Sydafrika, er høsten slut. En ny sæson venter.
Alt er, som det plejer.
Importørerne er på plads. Nye vine skal smages og vurderes.
Grænsen går, når vi siger, at dette her må i forandre og siden sker der ikke noget.
Ser vi, at de forandrer og skaber forbedringer, så fortsætter vi med at handle med dem.
Vi er overbevist om, at dette er den bedste måde at medvirke til varige forandringer i Sydafrika
Sub: Ida Ingerö
Souschef, Presse og Samfundsrelationer
Systembolaget
We raised the things with Systembolaget for the last five to six years. Systembolaget is quite familiar.
We met Systembolaget in Sweden and we meet with Systembolaget in South Africa. Systembolaget even send out their own auditors to follow up on complaints.
That’s about three to four years ago. And until today we saw no improvement.
After the audits from Systembolaget the things became from bad to worse
Sub: Karel Swart
Mærkerne på flaskerne, der ellers garanterer forbrugerne, at vinen fra Sydafrika er produceret under ordentlige forhold for arbejdere og miljø gælder ifølge Suyibela ikke for ham
I am still young; I’m the future. I am bright, I can travel the world, I can see things from somewhere, I can go to other countries. I can do anything.
But, if you don’t have something to do yourself, we don’t have contacts for going somewhere else. That’s why we end up on farms.
All of my life I am on a farm.
But me – as a poor person who is working with this manual labor I’m getting nothing.
I become poorer.
Men der findes stadig nogen som håber på en forandring
I slutningen af August 2016 gik arbejderne på fabrikken Robertson Winery i strejke.
De forlanger en fordobling af deres løn som ligger på godt 2.000 kroner om måneden.
I think you, as a consumer of South African red wine, you have to help to change those conditions by making ethical choices, by beginning to say that you will only drink red wine that comes from farms and from distillers that take into account these conditions and that are willing to make changes in the lives of farm workers, and that they treat farm workers with human dignity and don’t deny them their rights.
Sub: Mercia Andrews
Direktør, TCOE
Når dugen igen trækkes over Taffelbjerget i Cape Town er det ifølge legenden en historie om kampen mellem det gode og det onde.
Efter færddiggørelsen af dette program, oplyser en talsmand for Robertson Winery, at nogle af de arbejdere som blev interviewet, ikke blev afskediget fordi de krævede deres overtidsbetaling udbetalt eller for at klage over beskidt drikkevand, men, at de blev opsagt efter reglerne i arbejdsretten i Sydafrika.