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The Passport to Work Initiative
30/06/2010
The Colors Ethical Program
Since September 2008, Colors has embarked on the implementation of an ethical program which aims to support sustainable improvement of labour conditions on farms and in packhouses.
The program aims to create awareness and understanding of international and national labour legislation as well as to utilise knowledge gained from ethical audits to identify and implement actions, training and other support to stimulate the process of continuous improvement of labour practices.
The Passport to Work Initiative
The Passport to Work initiative was created by Acert Africa in response to the needs identified though the 150 Colors farms and packhouses that have already participated in an ethical audit. The Passport to Work training package aims to support producers with annual induction training and to create the required awareness in terms of ethical codes, national and international legislation, hygiene, health and safety among staff.
The Passport to Work training material was develped from infotmation gathered through ethical audits, interviews with more than 2 000 farm workers, and consultation with producers, exporters, NGOs and other experts in the field. The Passport to Work concept and training contents were tested and refined through a number of workshops with two groups of farm workers in the Elgin and Theewaterskloof areas of the Western Cape.
This extensive process ensured an innovative, "home-grown" training solution, which fulfills not only the training needs as identified through the ethical audit outcomes, but more importantly the training needs as identified by farm workers in a format that is clear, visual and understood by both literate and illiterate workers.
The Passport to Work training resource provides a training solution through a training DVD, posters and Passport to Work training cards:
The DVD
80 Minutes of training material visually conveys the required worker awareness and training into four modules (The Ethical Code, Health and Safety, Hygiene and workplace contacts and policies) as well as a short introduction to the Passport to Work concept:
1. The Ethical Code
This module serves to:
- Illustrate the important role of the farm worker within the supply chain.
- Convey the message that the customer wants to buy fruit produced in a manner that meets certain standards and that the workers and the environment are cared for in a proper manner.
- This links into the Ethical Code and relevant South African Labour Legislation, which is visually explained through role-play.
2. Health and Safety
This module serves to:
- Provide generic health and safety training for workers on farms and in packhouses as stipulated within South African Labour Legislation.
- Explain the most significant and common risks present in agriculture for example moving machinery; transport on and around the farm; agro-chemicals; farm dams; electrical installations; the use of ladders; lifting heavy objects; pregnancy etc.
3. Hygiene
This module serves to:
- Indicate the importance of hygiene starting at home.
- Visually indicate the correct method for washing hands.
- Create awareness and understanding of hygiene requirements on the farms and in the packhouses.
- Workplace contracts and policies
This module serves to:
- Explain the concept and the content of a contract as well as establish the importance of having this "agreement".
- Explain the most important policies that need to be in place according to South African Labour Legislation for example: the disciplinary process, sexual harassment, discrimination, sick leave etc.
Posters
The posters aim to reinforce learning and provide workers with reference points. For this purpose, each training pack comes with a set of 3 posters to assist (through photographs) with the identification of key worker representatives by the workforce (First Aiders, Health and Safety representatives and Worker representatives).
The passport to work cards
The Passport to Work card, is a pocket sized card issued to workers after training. This was developed in response to the migrant nature of a significant portion of farm labour, workers moving from one farm to another between seasons to seek employment. High turnover of seasonal workers means that employers constantly have to provide training to new employees.
The aim of this pocket sized passport to work card is to:
- Provide the workers with acknowledgement of training they have received.
- Provide card holders with useful information to assist them in the workplace.
- Assist producers by reducing repetition of training that workers have already received.
- Allow prospective employers to confirm the training record of the card holder.
Future development will focus on creating a Passport to Work database on the Acert website, where business owners can register workers that have completed the Passport to Work training or view if training has been completed by prospective employees or workers provided by Labour Brokers.
Tesco Funding
This initiative is funded by Tesco to support and acknowledge the commitment of the Colors supply base with the implementation of the ethical program. Tesco is confident that the training material will create a strong foundation from which to launch further skills development of management and staff on farms and in packhouses.
Distribution of the Training Packages
Farms and Packhouses that are participating in the ethical program have been afforded the opportunity to gain first access to the Tesco funding initiative. Information regarding the Passport to Work Initiative has been sent to 123 sites (these sites include farms and packhouses that have participated in training and an ethical audit and employ Afrikaans and Xhosa speaking labour). 60% of the sites have indicated interest to participate in the initiative and training packages have been dispatched to these sites.
The initiative will be introduced to the rest of the Colors supply base during Road shows and Producers Days commencing in June 2010.
Since September 2008, Colors has embarked on the implementation of an ethical program which aims to support sustainable improvement of labour conditions on farms and in packhouses.
The program aims to create awareness and understanding of international and national labour legislation as well as to utilise knowledge gained from ethical audits to identify and implement actions, training and other support to stimulate the process of continuous improvement of labour practices.
The Passport to Work Initiative
The Passport to Work initiative was created by Acert Africa in response to the needs identified though the 150 Colors farms and packhouses that have already participated in an ethical audit. The Passport to Work training package aims to support producers with annual induction training and to create the required awareness in terms of ethical codes, national and international legislation, hygiene, health and safety among staff.
The Passport to Work training material was develped from infotmation gathered through ethical audits, interviews with more than 2 000 farm workers, and consultation with producers, exporters, NGOs and other experts in the field. The Passport to Work concept and training contents were tested and refined through a number of workshops with two groups of farm workers in the Elgin and Theewaterskloof areas of the Western Cape.
This extensive process ensured an innovative, "home-grown" training solution, which fulfills not only the training needs as identified through the ethical audit outcomes, but more importantly the training needs as identified by farm workers in a format that is clear, visual and understood by both literate and illiterate workers.
The Passport to Work training resource provides a training solution through a training DVD, posters and Passport to Work training cards:
The DVD
80 Minutes of training material visually conveys the required worker awareness and training into four modules (The Ethical Code, Health and Safety, Hygiene and workplace contacts and policies) as well as a short introduction to the Passport to Work concept:
1. The Ethical Code
This module serves to:
- Illustrate the important role of the farm worker within the supply chain.
- Convey the message that the customer wants to buy fruit produced in a manner that meets certain standards and that the workers and the environment are cared for in a proper manner.
- This links into the Ethical Code and relevant South African Labour Legislation, which is visually explained through role-play.
2. Health and Safety
This module serves to:
- Provide generic health and safety training for workers on farms and in packhouses as stipulated within South African Labour Legislation.
- Explain the most significant and common risks present in agriculture for example moving machinery; transport on and around the farm; agro-chemicals; farm dams; electrical installations; the use of ladders; lifting heavy objects; pregnancy etc.
3. Hygiene
This module serves to:
- Indicate the importance of hygiene starting at home.
- Visually indicate the correct method for washing hands.
- Create awareness and understanding of hygiene requirements on the farms and in the packhouses.
- Workplace contracts and policies
This module serves to:
- Explain the concept and the content of a contract as well as establish the importance of having this "agreement".
- Explain the most important policies that need to be in place according to South African Labour Legislation for example: the disciplinary process, sexual harassment, discrimination, sick leave etc.
Posters
The posters aim to reinforce learning and provide workers with reference points. For this purpose, each training pack comes with a set of 3 posters to assist (through photographs) with the identification of key worker representatives by the workforce (First Aiders, Health and Safety representatives and Worker representatives).
The passport to work cards
The Passport to Work card, is a pocket sized card issued to workers after training. This was developed in response to the migrant nature of a significant portion of farm labour, workers moving from one farm to another between seasons to seek employment. High turnover of seasonal workers means that employers constantly have to provide training to new employees.
The aim of this pocket sized passport to work card is to:
- Provide the workers with acknowledgement of training they have received.
- Provide card holders with useful information to assist them in the workplace.
- Assist producers by reducing repetition of training that workers have already received.
- Allow prospective employers to confirm the training record of the card holder.
Future development will focus on creating a Passport to Work database on the Acert website, where business owners can register workers that have completed the Passport to Work training or view if training has been completed by prospective employees or workers provided by Labour Brokers.
Tesco Funding
This initiative is funded by Tesco to support and acknowledge the commitment of the Colors supply base with the implementation of the ethical program. Tesco is confident that the training material will create a strong foundation from which to launch further skills development of management and staff on farms and in packhouses.
Distribution of the Training Packages
Farms and Packhouses that are participating in the ethical program have been afforded the opportunity to gain first access to the Tesco funding initiative. Information regarding the Passport to Work Initiative has been sent to 123 sites (these sites include farms and packhouses that have participated in training and an ethical audit and employ Afrikaans and Xhosa speaking labour). 60% of the sites have indicated interest to participate in the initiative and training packages have been dispatched to these sites.
The initiative will be introduced to the rest of the Colors supply base during Road shows and Producers Days commencing in June 2010.