TREATED WORSE THAN LIVESTOCK IN THE WESTERN CAPE
Reporter – George April
ROBERTSON:- Every morning and evening in the Boland, trucks overloaded with human beings, not cargo, roll through towns and farmlands. 
These are the Western Cape’s farmworkers, transported in conditions that would be illegal for animals.
South African regulations clearly protect pigs during transit: non-slip flooring, shelter from the sun, protection from exhaust fumes, and limited transport density based on size. Yet the same country provides almost no protection for farmworkers enduring long rides in open trucks under unsafe, overcrowded, and undignified conditions.
Lives Lost, Voices Ignored
In just the past two years, there have been at least two fatal accidents in the Western Cape involving farmworkers transported like this. Each time, promises were made by politicians, MECs, and departments, but no meaningful reform followed. The lives of workers remain just as disposable as before.
Brett Herron – Enough is Enough
GOOD Party’s Brett Herron, speaking out in response to shocking images submitted to the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, said:
“This is a human rights disgrace. It’s 2025, how can we still allow workers to die on their way to earn a living, simply because no one wants to take responsibility? The DA-led Western Cape government cannot keep shifting blame to national transport. Action is needed now.”
Talk, But No Action
Two years ago, the Western Cape MEC for Agriculture promised to act after a deadly crash. He said all trucks transporting workers would be stopped and monitored. He called on the public to report these trucks. Yet to this day, across Robertson, Ceres, Worcester and beyond, workers still hang onto the backs of bakkies and trucks, risking their lives for a day’s wage.
The Hypocrisy of Rural Pride
We take pride in our farms, our wine, and our agricultural economy, but ignore the suffering of those who build it. A bottle of Boland bubbly might sparkle, but would tourists still drink it if they knew the pickers were dying on open trucks?
It’s Time – This is not a transport issue – It’s a moral one.
