Western Cape 2012 Farm Workers' strike  The Western Cape 2012 Farm Workers' strike was a wave of strikes and protests by agricultural workers in the Western Cape from 27 August 2012 to the 22 January 2013. The events led the deaths of 3 workers, R160 million in damages as well as a 52% increase in the official minimum wage. The protests mostly took place the towns of De Doorns and Worcester with smaller protests in Ceres, Robertson, Grabouw, Wolseley and Villiersdorp. The main cause of the strikes was low worker pay of R69 (roughly US$8.54 in 2012) per day and high unemployment. The protests began on a farm near De Doorns on 27 August 2012 when a group of largely female workers walked off the job. It then spread to other areas. It has been described as 'organic' and organised by workers without mediation by political parties, trade unions or NGOs. The strike was finally called off on 4 December 2012. According to the "Mail & Guardian" "the fact that the protests spread so fast after decades of quiescence shocked the country." It has been suggested that the strike was, in part, inspired by the Marikana miners' strike which took place earlier in the year. Three protesters were killed during the strike amidst widespread claims of police brutality and intimidation of workers to join the strikes. The strike mostly included road blockades, stoning of police, and burning vineyards but also included the intimidation of non-striking workers and damage to property (both agricultural as well as urban). The police reported that shops were also looted. A 28-year-old man, Michael Daniels, was shot dead by the police on 14 November 2012. A 40-year-old man, Bongile Ndleni, was shot dead, allegedly by a private security firm, on 17 November 2012. Amongst other reports of police violence it has been reported that a ten-year-old girl was shot in the face with a rubber bullet by the police. A police officer was injured and hospitalised by protesters when they stoned a police station. On Elim farm, near De Doorns, a pensioner, Jan Jonkers, was attacked by a protester with a machete fracturing his skull after he was mistaken for a non-striking worker. The provincial premier Helen Zille had stones thrown at her and her delegation when they tried to address a crowd of 2,000 protesters in De Doorns forcing her, although unharmed, to leave the area.