Social Audits

The legal right to work needs to be clarified for producers and auditors, particularly when employing foreign nationals. Before being employed by a South African business, all foreign workers in South Africa must possess a valid passport or ID and the necessary work permits. Employing foreign nationals without a valid work permit and passport is illegal under the Immigration Act 13 of 2002 (as amended).

When infrastructure allows, employers should provide electricity at agri-worker accommodation where housing deductions are made. If 10% of the farm employee’s wages are deducted for accommodation, additional electricity charges can only be made if an adequate prepaid meter is installed. This allows the occupant’s usage to be measured, with the cost deducted accordingly—only if both parties agree in writing beforehand.

In today’s compliance-driven marketplace, having real-time visibility into suppliers’ compliance information is essential for buyers aiming to mitigate risks and ensure adherence to Social and Environmental standards. The MySIZA platform stands out as a cutting-edge, globally competitive solution for the South African agricultural industry. 

From 01 April 2023 until 31 March 2024, 713 SIZA Social (ethical) Audits were conducted in South Africa on farms and packhouses. These audits were conducted throughout various seasons and included a wide variety of agricultural crops and commodities.

The cost of compliance has always been a sensitive and uncomfortable subject. The aim of compliance is not to create financial strain on the business but a requirement to ensure a third-party certification body has evaluated specific requirements of a standard required by the farm’s clients/buyers.

Many agricultural businesses have to undergo at least three types of audits, depending on the market they supply to: a food safety audit, a social (ethical) audit, and, nowadays, an environmental (sustainability) audit.

A total of 403 Social audits have been conducted for the period 1 April 2021 to 31 October 2021.

The SANS 10400 regulation regarding firefighting equipment requires that a number of fire extinguishers are needed depending on the occupancy classification as per the table set out in the National Building Regulation.

As 2020 brought about many challenges, one of the many aspects of SIZA that remained constant was our dedication to ensure quality and credible third-party audits.

A total of 560 Social (Ethical) audits have been conducted for the period 1 January to 31 October 2020. This results in a median of 56 social audits per month. For the same period, three Environmental third-party standalone audits have taken place, and a further 13 Environmental audits are scheduled to take place in future.