- According to a new U.S. lawsuit, in 2014, a major farm in Mississippi started hiring South Africans—all of them white—for seasonal work.
- The plaintiff stated that South Africans replaced local black workers, and in a predominantly black area, their wages were higher than that of locals.
- Six black workers are now demanding compensation for discrimination.
- More stories Go to www.BusinessInsider.co.za.
Pitts Farms is a very large cotton, soybean, and corn producer in Mississippi. In the past, there was a large number of black laborers, who came from more than 70% black areas. Lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court this week.
Then, in 2014, it started using imported labor from South Africa. They are always white, and according to the plaintiff in the lawsuit, their salary is higher than that of local black workers-in some cases, black workers have trained them.
Now there are six local workers hoping to get compensation in one case Their representatives from the Mississippi Justice Center and the Southern Immigration Legal Services Center said that this is just an example The exploitation of black workers in the southern United States.
The complainant stated that the national standard rate for South Africans was US$9.87 per hour in 2014 and rose to US$11.83 in 2020 (approximately 170 South African rand at the current exchange rate). At the same time, local blacks earn $9 an hour for driving heavy trucks, while ordinary workers earn $7.25 an hour, and work weekends earn an extra $1 an hour.
The complaint stated that the farm “deliberately paid black labor for the same or similar work wages, which was lower than that of white foreign workers. The white foreign workers also received other benefits, while the plaintiff and other black domestic workers did not provide them.”
Although some black workers are charged for using accommodation on the farm, white South Africans live in better houses without rent.
The workers also stated that their farm supervisors “frequently used racial slander, including the n-word” when talking to “black workers” or talking about “black workers”.
According to the complaint, these South Africans were formally hired as “agricultural equipment operators” from February to November each year, whose duties included driving tractors and repairing agricultural equipment. Some people deliver water around the farm or drive trucks to the auction house.
South Africans hold H-2A visas, specifically for temporary agricultural workers. In order to obtain this type of visa, their employer must “[d]Prove that there are not enough U.S. workers capable, willing, qualified and available for temporary work“, with Show that American workers will not be adversely affected.
South Africans are very popular among H-2A employers in the United States, and Special regulations are in place to ensure that they can enter the country during the 2021 harvest season.
(Compiled by Philip de Wetter)
