Cape Town farm worker's accident 13 - 11 - 06

Cape Town farm workers’ accident

The Congress of South African Trade Unions is horrified at this morning’s appalling accident at Ridgemore Wine Farm between Faure and Firgrove stations near Cape Town. Nineteen farm workers lost their lives, and twelve were seriously injured, when the truck and trailer in which they were being driven to work collided with a train.

We send our deep condolences to the families and friends of the deceased and best wishes to the injured for a complete recovery. We also call for the fullest possible inquiry into the cause of the crash and action taken against anyone found guilty of any offence.

This accident comes less than a week after a similar tragedy which claimed the lives of five farm workers and injured eleven in Limpopo. They too were being transported to work on the back of a truck.

COSATU said then, and repeats it today with greater anger and force, that no one should be forced to travel on the back of an open truck or bakkie. They are not designed for carrying passengers. Passengers in comparative safety inside vehicles are rightly compelled to wear seat belts, yet people on a truck or bakkie have no protection at all if the vehicle crashes. As both these tragedies prove, passengers’ lives are at enormous risk.

“It is intolerable,” we repeat, “that workers should be forced to travel to and from their work in such dangerous conditions. It is a clear breach of their right to safe working conditions... Safe, affordable public transport is a basic right for all, particularly for those compelled to travel to and from work”.

COSATU calls for the employers in both these cases to be prosecuted and punished severely. We demand that the traffic authorities put a stop to this highly dangerous practice and immediately pull off the road any vehicles carrying people unprotected on the back and prosecute the driver.

These disasters have occurred at the very time that the SACP’s ongoing Red October campaign on public transport is seeking to highlight precisely this kind of problem.

COSATU will be seeking an urgent meeting with the Minister of Transport to discuss public transport matters, and safety for passengers will be an important area of discussion.