One killed in S.Africa farmworker unrest

DE DOORNS, South Africa (AFP) – One person has been killed and five others hurt as protests by South African farmworkers demanding higher pay descended into sporadic violence Wednesday.

Police told AFP a 28-year-old man was killed and five others were injured, as violence flared at various locations across South Africa’s agricultural heartland in the Western Cape.

“We can confirm the death of a 28-year-old man in Wolseley and five others wounded,” Constable Lybey Swartz said.

Several thousand farm workers from the vineyard region have been on strike for more than a week, calling for their salary to be doubled to 150 rand (14 euros, $11) a day.