NO ROYAL FEAST HERE - Swaziland

 

NO ROYAL FEAST HERE

 

On the last weekend of April, costly celebrations in Swaziland marked the 58^th birthday of King Mswati III.

 

Most Swazi though refused to participate. They have been ruled over since 1973 by Africa’s last absolute monarchy. Political parties are banned. Five years ago pro-democracy demonstrators were gunned down. Trade unionists have been forced into exile. This has allowed the King to amass extraordinary levels of personal wealth while the country is one of the world’s most unequal with 63% of people living in poverty.

 

Patriarchal structures are intertwined with climate vulnerability. Yet brave women are cultivating a grassroots revolution aimed at reclaiming knowledge, land and power.

 

Across Southern Africa climate change has disrupted livelihoods, causing crop failure, livestock loss and turning ancestral fields to dust. It all adds to food insecurity, forcing women to travel longer distances to fetch water/firewood and care for climate-affected family members. Adding to the issues women are treated as second class citizens and gender-based violence is widespread.

 

The Swaziland Rural Women’s Assembly (SWRA)  spearheads the Feminists for Alternatives on Climate and Environment, a spokeswoman for whom said “the Sandlalesikhutsele Women Group (SWG)  are building a community seed bank by collecting, preserving and exchanging indigenous, drought-and flood-resistant seed varieties.” The women have learned from their Zimbabwe and South Sudan sisters.

 

This delights Unite’s Charlie Clutterbuck. “In their protected skins, seeds can withstand drought and colds for decades. Creating seed banks is an act of defiance.

 

“Soviet scientist Nikolia Vavilov created the first seed bank in Leningrad. A dozen of his staff died when they refused to eat the seeds during a siege in WWII and thus prevented Hitler getting his hands on them.”

 

According to a SWG spokeswoman, “Seedbanks are lifelines during crises, allowing communities to replant after devastating losses using locally adapted varieties. Selling seeds communally also generates vital income. This work preserves biodiversity and traditional knowledge, safeguarding the genetic heritage that multinational seed corporations seek to erase.”

 

The SWRA’s political demands include that Swaziland adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas that recognizes peasants’ rights to land, water, seeds, biodiversity and food sovereignty.

 

This would ensure a legal and policy framework to protect rural communities and women’s rights.

By challenging the colliding crises of patriarchy, capitalism, and climate chaos, the SWRA’s impressive optimism, grounded in action and solidarity, offers radical hope. Follow them at https://www.facebook.com/RuralWomen3

 

Unite has long played a positive role for agriculture and rural workers worldwide. This is needed more than ever. Branches can today show international solidarity by affiliating to Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA), the successor to the Anti-Apartheid Movement that played a key role in ending Apartheid in South Africa.

 

ACTSA, which is working with partners to release a Swaziland report later this year, backs trade unions and other Southern African groups who support workers and human rights.

 

https://actsa.org and specifically on Swaziland https://actsa.org/human-rights-in-swaziland/ 

 

 

Unite secures better pay for NI agricultural workers

Unite secures better pay for NI agri workers

The Northern Ireland Agricultural Wages Board (NIAWB) has agreed increased hourly rates for over 10,000 agricultural sector employees, including many migrant workers.

This follows a Unite led a united campaign to defeat plans to scrap the Board by the Northern Ireland Assembly Rural Affairs Minister Edwin Poots and the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU).

The previous six-grade system has been reduced to five and Agricultural Wages Board (AWB) rates range from £8 for trainees to £14.44 for agricultural managers, which represent increases of 4.1% and 8% respectively.

Agricultural, lead skilled and multi-skilled workers now earn £13.30, £13.66 and £13.89 an hour respectively. Whilst £13.30 an hour exceeds the government’s legal minimum of £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over it falls short of the higher, voluntary National Living Wage (NLW) of £13.45.

The 15p an hour less that AWB grade 2 workers are now earning below the NLW means they miss out on around £6 a week and over £300 annually. A sum they should be rewarded with.

“We had hoped to achieve, at least, the NLW but the UFU were determined to block this and they succeeded. It remains our ambition, especially as some jobs are highly skilled,” explains Unite regional officer Joanne McWilliams.

The 15 members of the NI AWB, which is the collective bargaining mechanism for private sector works, consists of six reps each from UFU and Unite plus three independent members who, in the face of UFU intransigence, stopped shy of agreeing a new rate that equalled the NLW.

The UFU also blocked Unite’s attempts to ensure overtime rates would now be paid at the same hourly rate as standard working hours.

Joanne McWilliams said: “The UFU consistently complains of its members not having monies and of being expected to maintain ‘unfairly high standards … compared to other industries.”

Even Margaret Thatcher maintained the AWB across the UK during her time as the prime minister, but thanks to the Tories and Liberal Democrat government of 2010-15, England no longer has an AWB after the Cameron and Clegg coalition scrapped it.

Unite’s research has shown that by leaving English farm workers at the mercy of their employers they have struggled to get a pay rise whilst some have even missed out on sick pay.

“The same situation would happen here if the UFU had their way,” explains McWilliams. “So it is good that the AWB remains to provide a negotiating forum to represent workers who are often isolated. We will fight to support its retention for workers to continue seeking much better pay and working and living conditions for those residing on site.”

TRAPPED - will England join Wales and Scotland in outlawing snares?

 Unpublished Landworker magazine 

The long struggle to outlaw snare traps that can bring immense suffering to wildlife and pets in England has taken a giant leap forward. This follows the government’s promised banning of the estimated 200,000 hidden wire traps within its Animal Welfare Strategy that was launched in December 2025.

England will follow the bans against these hidden dangers in 2023 and 20024 in Wales and Scotland respectively. Snares are widely used by the shooting industry. 

Outlawing snares has the overwhelming support of the public, with a OnePoll survey finding that 73% agree that animals have a right to live persecution free. 96 MPs had signed an Early Motion in support of riding the English countryside of snares.

According to DEFRA Secretary Emma Reynolds, MP, its strategy is aimed at “improving the lives of millions of animals across the UK at home, on farm and in the wild.’ Proposals include stronger rules on how animals are reared and slaughtered n the UK plus a ban on trail hunting, which the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) has demonstrated is frequently a ‘smokescreen’ for illegal hunting.

The government is committed to working with ‘interested parties’ to deliver their strategy by the end of 2030. So, whilst bodies such as LACS and Animal Aid have generally welcomed the government proposals they are not resting on their laurels. Take a look at their – and similar bodies – websites if you’d like to assist them.

UNITE BOOSING THE MOO-D

 

UNITE BOOSING THE MOO-D

Unite brings in better pay and conditions at AI Services  

Highly skilled Irish technicians who work for AI services by artificially inseminating cows for farmers, should finally enjoy much better pay and conditions, thanks to Unite.

Artificial insemination (AI), which has revolutionised cattle production worldwide since the 1940s, has been widely adopted across Ireland as it enables cattle semen to be stored for years. This means farmers don’t need to keep bulls on the farm for breeding with 25-30 female cows.

Assisted reproductive technology permits cattle producers to efficiently introduce desired genetics into their herds. This ensures farmers can be confident that the born calf will either later produce milk or can be raised for meat production.

A test tube is used to deposit fertile semen as close as possible to the ovum inside the female cattle’s reproductive tract.

Well-managed AI programs consistently report conception rates exceeding 65% in healthy cows.

The whole AI process though is complicated, requiring great skill and diligence. Yet for decades those who have worked to provide this essential service for cattle farming across the agricultural industry that forms a major part of the Irish economy, north and south, have been very badly paid.

Working without contracts they have been forced into toiling long hours on a ‘per cow born’ basis that left them earning below the minimum wage. This all began to change when Unite were contacted in August 2025. A meeting with Unite regional officer Albert Hewitt, at a remote filling station saw a substantial number of workers, some with three decades of experience in their trade, attend to raise their concerns.

Hewitt represents workers at Lakeland Dairies and Caterpillar plus Community Members. He explained how the union would be able to help them organise in order to improve their working lives and recruited the technicians as members.

“They had realised their wages were never going up and agreed to join.”

Armed with such strong backing from his new Unite members, Hewitt, approached A.I Services seeking a voluntary recognition agreement.

The company  has responded positively even employing a new Human Resources Manager.

Hewitt said: “I am working with her on this including getting new contracts drawn up. I am confident the issues can be resolved so that there is a tracking system that records how many hours are being worked. A pay rate that, at the very least, initially exceeds the minimum wage can form the basis for long term further improvements.“

Roly Gregoire and myself on racism in football

Last Wednesday I appeared alongside Roly Gregoire The Roly Gregoire Foundation on the BCB afternoon show. 

Roly was Sunderland AFC's first black footballer between 1977 and 1979 and suffered racism aplenty. So when his career was ended after just ten league games due to a terrible injury he was never the same person for a long time. Thankfully, a recent BBC Look North programme has gone a long way to helping him. For once, I said very little - even more of a reason to listen to the interview that is at:-

https://markwrite.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/MM-Roly-Gregoire.mp3

AN ODE TO THE SOIL

 

An ode to the soil

uniteLANDWORKER - Summer 2026 by Mark Metcalf 

Thanks to soil, Earth harbours life and it is the only planet known to do so, yet nobody has written about the evolution of soil before.

 

That’s about to radically change because Unite’s own soil scientist Dr Charles Clutterbuck, has written a new book.

 

On the origin of soils is due to be published by 5m Books in the autumn and will mark a lifetime ambition that Charlie first considered over six decades ago.

 

That’s when, over a period of three years, Charlie counted half a million small soil animals largely consisting of springtails, (which Charlie calculates have been around for 400 million years,) mites and nematodes.

 

Oe small group of mites, called oribatids are possibly the most important group of animals on earth, according to socio-biologist E.O. Wilson.

 

Charlie told Landworker, “I was certain someone would write a book on soil evolution, but it has never happened. As I approach very old age I knew I must do it.”

 

Charli has modelled his style of writing on Charles Darwin’s On the origin of species classic book “that ordinary people were able to understand but also ensured learned scientists could learn a lot from.”

 

Charlie is convinced it will also be possible to later produce a children’s book graphically explaining what’s going on beneath their feet and why it is essential to preserve this unique environment                                                                                                                                                                                         Photo - copyright Mark Harvey 

It is only in relatively recent times that soil began to be universally recognised as living matter.

 

Yet, Charlie calculates it first began to perform such a vital role 500m years ago. That’s double the time since insects first began to flourish.

 

“Insects must have come from soil, the skin of the earth and the bringer of all life,” states Charlie.

 

Karl Marx was a big fan of Darwin, whose works gave a natural explanation of how things can change. ‘Ol Karl’ believed the source of all wealth is labour. To which he mixed ‘soil’, discussing this with the then leading agricultural chemist, Liebig, resulting in realising the value - his favourite word - of soil as part of his broader critique on capitalism and its impact on the environment.

 

Sadly, soil’s value appears to have been treated like dirt. Worldwide over 2,000 gigatons of soil (a gigaton = one billion metric tonnes) has been lost in the last 40 years; that took between 400,000 and 4 million years to build. That amounts to a gigaton of carbon a year.

 

But have you heard anybody mention this? There is talk about soil ‘sequestration’ - capturing carbon - and this was forefront at Davos World Economic Forum conference a couple of years back. But they see the answer in ‘carbon trading, now a trillion-pound market.

 

How and where can we raise awareness of this? The answer - as Arthur Fallowfield in BBC’s ‘Beyond our Ken’ comedy series between 1958 and 1964 would have said: “lies in the soil.”

 

photo - copyright Mark Harvey

Farmworkers needed to save the soil and planet

 

Who better to see what is going on, than farmworkers? Why are we not training them, and paying them, to see where and how the degradation and erosion of soil - 3million tons in UK each year - is occurring.

 

Instead of contributing to carbon trading market, why not invest directly in those best placed to see what is going on, so they can suggest ways to improve it.

 

This has been achieved at places such as the Incredible Farm in Todmorden which now grows 1 million tons of food on previously infertile land. It’s a case that is made in On the origin of soils.

 

Charlie is keen to speak about the book at meetings but as a full-time carer it needs to be by zoom. Get in touch with him on charlie@sustainablefood.com

 

 

Charlie’s book follows a film produced on his behalf by Dave Hackney and Mark Metcalf aimed at encouraging debate about food and farming and that could be used by communities or online.

 

The film, JUST GROW TO EAT is a 30-minute journey across north west England explaining developments in Britain’s countryside. Charlie highlights that due to supermarket dominance, food imports continue growing at the expense of the environment, people’s health, real green jobs and rural communities.

 

Charlie also outlines how growing food locally could help people on low incomes by creating more jobs on the land. It would require about £3bn in subsidies, around what Britain once received back from the EU.

 

Here are some of the main points from the film for you to discuss and decide what demands to make within your own sphere of influence.

 

1.     Cut down on Ultra-Processed Foods:.
How can you tell what you’re eating is ultra-processed, and how can you reduce their use? Lobby governments to include in any future plans to reduce obesity.

2.     Increase access to land for communities to grow more local food. Allotments are under more threat-with more building. Are there ways to protect them and promote growing  areas within building developments?

3.     Encourage debate about who owns the land and how we can have more say in what is grown there. E.g. is using 3 million acres of land for grouse shooting really a sustainable use of resources?

4.    Promote the £3bn ‘old EU subsidy’ money so it can be used to help poorer people buy locally produced better food.

5.    Introduce ‘seed’ funding.                                                                                                      To stimulate new ‘green’ economies, linking town and country, thus creating  ‘real’ green jobs, growing more food.

6.    How do we get and keep our best resource, good soil.

7.    Add ‘food and farming’ to debates about greening the economy.

Most industrial strategies talk about energy, cars, steel, batteries, emissions, and targets - but rarely a mention of the greatest carbon-capture and storage units - plants.

 

Find out more

To watch Charlie’s film Just grow to eat visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu3HJtbXvd8

 

You can also subscribe to Charlie’s YouTube channel @CharlieClutterbuck

 

You can but this book On the origin of soils from retailers in the autumn.

 

Charlie is keen to speak about the book at meetings by zoom. Get in touch with him on charlie@sustainablefood.com

 

Visit Incredible Farm, Mankinholes Bank, OL14 6JA https://incrediblefarm.co.uk

 

 

Fishery workers net better deal

 

Fishery workers net better deal

By Mark Metcalf – uniteLANDWORKER Summer 2026

Christopher Feenan is taking over from Jim Leneghan as the Unite rep at the Northern Ireland Fishing  Harbour Authority (NIFHA) and hopes to maintain recent progress in pay and conditions.

NIFHA, a public sector arms-length body funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA),  manages the ports of Ardglass, Kilkeel and Portavogie, which last year had a combined turnover of £27.4m.

Previously non-unionised, NIFHA staff finally won recognition rights with Unite in late 2023. 25+ workers grabbed the chance to become members.

Conflict developed after management failed to keep basic pay in line with inflation or award pay increments that were recommended in a 2019 external grading review. NIFHA had never paid more than the national minimum wage.

Low wages meant it was difficult retaining the skilled staff required to ensure a high standard  service for the private boats that generally go fishing two to three days at a time.  

A fall in fish landed threatened to damage a fragile rural economy that includes fish processing factories, seaside restaurants, chip shops and supermarkets.

Despite NIFHA declaring itself an accredited Living Wage employer which should have been, at least, £12 an hour (from October 2023) NIFHA had never paid more than the national minimum wage.

Jim had been a loyal NIFHA employee for over 20 years. “I felt betrayed considering our skills, experiences and dedication. The authority was making sufficient monies to treat us better. We were on the £11.44 minimum hourly wage.” 

Based at Ardglass, a fishing port for over 2,000 years, Jim became the elected Unite rep for the three ports.

He said, “Taking strike action was considered to help our families. “

In the event strike action was not needed as for the first time ever, UNITE could push NIFHA into negotiating.

The positive outcome secured pay increases for 2024 of 3% and 6% for 2025. Depending on grades, workers received between £2,500 and £3,000 back pay just before Christmas.

Christopher, a deputy harbour master said, “It was a welcome result, we are pretty chuffed.”

“Maternity pay has also improved…back pay will be paid.”

 Recently the restrictions that had previously prevented staff who left before a pay deal was agreed was ended. Back pay will be paid out. It is all thanks to UNITE.

A harbour operative now earns £13.31 hourly. Whilst this remains below the voluntary National Living Wage of £13.45 an hour (from March 2026) it is considerably more than the hourly national minimum wage of £12.71 and translates into round £1,100 a year.  

Unfortunately, Increased wages have not prevented workers looking for work at the 11 Northern Ireland private ports and harbours.

Christoper said, “Some key staff have departed. When the authority tried to recruit recently it was impossible to find staff. It would benefit ourselves and the business if we were better paid.”