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| South Africa police fire rubber bullets at farm workers | South Africa police fire rubber bullets at farm workers |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| South Africa's police have fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse striking farm workers in the wine-producing Western Cape region. | South Africa's police have fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse striking farm workers in the wine-producing Western Cape region. |
| The workers barricaded roads and threw stones at police in De Doorns town, a top grape-producing area outside Cape Town, local media reported. | The workers barricaded roads and threw stones at police in De Doorns town, a top grape-producing area outside Cape Town, local media reported. |
| The strikers, who pick and pack fruit, are demanding a doubling of their daily wage to about $15 (£9). | |
| South Africa has been hit by a series of wildcat strikes since last year. | South Africa has been hit by a series of wildcat strikes since last year. |
| Talks between trade union and employer representatives to avert a strike on the farms broke down earlier this week. | |
| "We have been met with naked racism and white arrogance," said Nosey Pieterse, the general secretary of the Agricultural Workers Union. | "We have been met with naked racism and white arrogance," said Nosey Pieterse, the general secretary of the Agricultural Workers Union. |
| South Africa's labour relations are fraught with racial tension, more than 18 years after white minority rule ended. | South Africa's labour relations are fraught with racial tension, more than 18 years after white minority rule ended. |
| Most farm owners are white while their workers are black. | Most farm owners are white while their workers are black. |
| Police spokesman Lt-Col Andre Traut said about 50 protesters had been arrested in De Doorns, and the anti-riot force had been deployed to contain the unrest, the South African Press Association (Sapa) reports. | |
| "We are taking action, and arrests are being effected," he is quoted as saying. | |
| The farms were hit by a similar strike last year, when two workers were killed in clashes with police. |