Shoprite checkers strikers looming 14 - 07 - 06

 

SACCAWU MEDIA RELEASE ON
THE LOOMING STRIKE AT SHOPRITE CHECKERS

SACCAWU and Shoprite Checkers, a major retailer in South and Southern Africa have been involved in protracted Wage Negotiations, which started in April 2006 but have thus far failed to reach an agreement. Workers are demanding a mere R300.00 or 10% per month increase, a demand which is not only fair and legitimate but justified as well. Apart from being fair and legitimate, this demand is in fact a compromise since the workers had initially demanded R550 or 12%, whichever is greater.

The failure to reach agreement results from Shoprite Checkers’ unreasonable refusal to grant workers a mere R300.00 or 10% increase despite having increased their growth in turnover from 11% to 14% through the hard labour, sweat and tears of the ever-toiling workers! Shoprite Checkers arrogantly declares that they can afford to give such an increase but are only prepared to give it to those workers employed in Sandton and other upmarket trading areas. They also contemptuously and unashamadely declare their desire to discriminate between those workers in rural and urban areas. This is a shocking attitude from a Company that prides itself as the biggest retailer in the African Continent. Shoprite Checkers wants to force workers to accept a R265.00 whilst the same Company has reported a gross profit of R5.990 billion (almost six billion rands), as per its Group Financial General Manager’s Annual Financial Report - 2005. In the same year, the Company granted its CEO a staggering R59 million, which presupposes that he deserves such amount when workers must get something next to nothing.

Some workers in newly-opened store as well as some in the so-called rural areas where Shoprite Checkers is trading earn a paltry R900 per month with the company pretending that it is in line with the Wholesale and Retail Sectoral Determination. Imagine how many workers would be paid by the CEO’s package for their entire life and beyond. It is a fact that our economy is characterised by huge and unnecessary inequalities and Apartheid wage gaps resulting from such inequalities and Shoprite Checkers’ position, if left unchallenged, can only worsen the situation.

SACCAWU referred the matter to the CCMA in the hope that the Company will see reason in the workers’ demand and grant a reasonable increase, but this did not deter the greedy and selfish profit-driven mentality of Shoprite Checkers who are hell-bent on giving workers starvation wages and further assert the exploitative Capitalist agenda. SACCAWU members in Shoprite Checkers resolved in their various meetings to take the Company head-on and are committed to fight to the bitter end!

Owing to the resolution by members to embark on a protected strike, the Union accordingly issued the Company with a notice in terms of the Labour Relations Act of 1995 as amended.

The Company has since gone on a rampage through a very arrogant and antagonistic approach towards the relationship of the parties.

First was an authoritative style of management, then the unilateral change to working conditions despite the dispute that the parties are still locked in relating to yet another unilateral change to work-patterns and introduction of late trading without the decency of providing safe and reliable transport.

The Company went on to refuse the shopstewards paid time-off as provided for by law and then openly declared that workers will no longer have the right to meet as was the norm.

The Company is clearly on a warpath and our members are sharpened and ready for combat. The parties have since met at the CCMA on 11 July 2006 in order to discuss strike and picket rules but could not agree. In terms of the LRA, the CCMA has the appropriate authority to impose such rules on parties CCMA duly imposed the rules.

The battle lines are drawn!

SACCAWU is convening a media briefing to unveil the programme of action relating to the protected strike in Shoprite Checkers as follows:

Date: 17 July 2006
Time: 10h00
Place: SACCAWU House
11 Leyds Street
Braamfontein

We therefore invite various print and electronic media houses.

For further details, please contact Lucas Ramatlhodi, Mike Tau or Thabo Mahlangu at the SACCAWU Head Office on 011 403 8333.