"Keep your head down": unprotected migrants in South Africa

Documents human rights abuses against South African migrant workers

Published by: Human Rights Watch (HRW), 2007
Via: Eldis

This report documents the human rights abuses encountered by migrant workers in South Africa. The report highlights the situation in Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces where both documented and undocumented foreign farm workers may have their rights under South Africa’s basic employment law protections violated by employers. The report highlights abuses including:

• wage exploitation
• uncompensated workplace injury
• appalling housing conditions
• the detention of minors with adults
• workplace violence.

The report makes a number of recommendations to the South African government as well as to the South African parliament, the governments of Mozambique and Zimbabwe, trade unions, civil society, farmer associations, as well as a variety of independent bodies and international organisations and donors.

(http://hrw.org/reports/2007/southafrica0207/)