Although the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) has learnt with grave concern about the “Bitter grapes” documentary, it has to be stated that DAFF did not conduct any investigation due to the fact that the matters raised by honourable Paulsen falls outside its ambit. Living conditions of farm workers falls within the mandate of the Departments of Labour and Rural Development and Land Reform.
The plight of farmworkers is a serious concern to the sector at large and goes beyond the scope of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and even that of government. In trying to remedy this predicament, the Vulnerable Workers Interdepartmental Forum was instituted and different role players were allocated responsibilities falling within their scope to come up with interventions that would mitigate the plight of the vulnerable workers.
The main Departments serving on the Forum are: