Verhoudings tussen boere en plaaswerkers in post-apartheid Suid-Afrika : die wisselwerking tussen formalisering en paternalisme

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: An outcome of this thesis, done on farms in South-Africa in the Swartland area, is thatthe labour structure in agriculture is still predominantly paternalistic and thatpaternalism and empowerment coexist. This co-existence causes tension betweenfarmers and farm workers as it disrupts the relationship where farmers traditionallyhad the authority and farm workers were subordinate, but in the modern farm settinghave a measure of independence. A qualitative approach was used to investigate howfarmers and farm workers perceived their relationship in the past and how theyexperience it presently. Individual interviews were held with each farmer and focusgroup discussions with workers on farms. The study discusses how farmers and farmworkers maintain paternalism on farms, in the context of the reduced support of thestate to white commercial farmers as well as the expansion and formalisation oflabour and tenure legislation of workers' rights.The state acted as 'patron' to the farmers in the apartheid era, but the state's patronageto farmers came to an end with the political transition. Farmers feel frustrated andmiss the support they enjoyed previously. Legislation which challenges the power andauthority of farmers has been extended to farms and provides a framework for therelationship between farmers and farm workers and establishes a context in which thisrelationship occurs. This has brought about that the power and authority of the'paternalistic farmers have been exposed and challenged. These changes in farmers'and farmworkers' relationship with the state create uncertainties, changes andadjustments in the relationship between farmers and farm workers on farms.Farmers still take control of farms, regardless of any legislation. The farm workersalso still tend to define their position as depending on the farmer's goodwill inconjunction with formal legislation. However, although the workers are stilldependent on the farmer, they are also aware of their rights in the new democratic eraand they claim these rights. The 'old paternalistic relationship together with thepropagation of new legislation causes tensions as well as disruptions in therelationship between famers and farm workers. But, forged in unequal relationships ofdependency and loyalty, farmers and farm workers keep commercial agriculturegoing.The information collected is intended to shed light on the complex relationshipsbetween farmers and farm workers on farms. Hopefully this research on several farmsin the Western Cape, in the Swartland environment, can contribute to a betterunderstanding of the complex relationship between farmers and farm workers.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University