SIZA Connect Newsletter

Each audit’s cost will depend on a variety of factors, including the number of employees, the number of farms/facilities, and where the site is located.

Audits must take place during peak production periods as this is a minimum requirement to ensure markets accept the audit report’s validity.

Although SIZA focuses on avoiding duplication in audits for South African producers, producers still require three pillars for sustainability audits which includes: social, environmental, and a food safety audit.

During every sick leave cycle, the employee is entitled to paid sick leave equal to the number of days the agri-worker would normally work during a period of six weeks.

Employees are not required to work on a public holiday unless an agreement has been reached with the employer to work on that day.

It is a common occurrence that employers only allow overtime to be paid once an entire week’s hours are completed, regardless of whether the ordinary hours per day are exceeded.

In cases where seasonal workers are employed for the same length of time and under the same conditions of employment, ‘group contracts’ are sometimes entered into in agriculture.

In terms of regulation 7 of the Hazardous Chemical Substances Regulations of 1995, medical examinations and tests must be conducted on farms, in cellars, and in production facilities.

To ensure that there is no health risk relating to water, the SIZA Social Standard requires that a microbial analysis of the water must be done.

The use, storage, and disposal of biodegradable industrial wastewater is classified as a Section 21(e) and/or 21(g) water use activity by the National Water Act 36 of 1998 (NWA)