Cosatu says that the attack on a six-year-old boy by a baboon on a Pietermaritzburg farm exposes the plight of workers in South Africa.

The federation says it was “repulsed” by reports that the farmer had “ignored previous warnings from the parents of the kid”.

“It is contemptible that this family has been living in fear of these baboons that have been terrorising them without any intervention from the farmer. This vicious attack on this little boy points to the cruel plight of many farm workers and farm dwellers. Their lives are not taken seriously by their employers and they even give animals better treatment and protection than these workers‚” Cosatu said.

The federation is calling on the provincial government to intervene in the difficulties facing farm workers in KwaZulu-Natal.

“We demand action from the relevant authorities and accountability from this reckless farmer. This terrible incident regrettably is not an isolated occurrence‚ but is a daily episode that is replicated in many different forms across the farming sector nationwide.”

It is also calling on the Human Rights Commission “to speed up its investigations on the abuse and killing of farm workers and farm dwellers” and “expects the Expropriation Bill that was adopted by the National Assembly to address the plight of farm workers and farm dwellers”.