By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
South African Commercial Catering and Allied Workers Union (SACCAWU) embarked on a secondary strike action and picketed outside the US embassy in Pretoria.
The reason for the strike is the dismissal of 600 Makro workers. Which, the union has deemed unlawful.
Negotiations during the disputes between Makro and its employees include the demand for a moratorium on retrenchment.
Despite this though, Saccawu has claimed 600 names have been put forward for retrenchments.
The union also claimed that there was an additional 300 more names that were earmarked for retrenchments at a later date.
The union has been picketing outside Makro stores for 10 days and is now picketing outside the US embassy in Pretoria, to hand over a memorandum, because Walmart, the company that owns Massmart and Makro, is based in the US.
SACCAWU President Louise Thipe says, “Walmart originates from US and we will then target the embassy of that country so that they take the message to the very organisation that is Walmart. At some point, we might even talk about how the history of Walmart lands in our country and surely, all these actions would at some point take us back to that original player who then accepted Walmart into the country.
According to Thipe, Makro management has suspended workers with the aim of dismissing them. Saccawu has filed a complaint of unfair dismissal and suspension with the CCMA (Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration), with the intention of reversing the suspensions.
The union argues that this practice is illegal, and that they will intensify their efforts to secure better wages for their members.
Saccawu is calling for a 12% increase or a R900 raise in salaries for all workers. Additionally, it is requesting a minimum wage of R900 per month, an increase in the commission rate for salespersons from 10% to 20%, and a uniform allowance.
The union is also demanding an increase in Category 3 working hours from 160 to 190 per month, the separate payment of a 13th cheque, a uniform allowance of R100 per month, and a halt to any future retrenchments.
Massmart says the union’s demands are unrealistic in a context of the Group posting a net loss of R2 billion.
In a statement, Massmart has highlighted its financial constraints, and says it showed the union the importance of conserving jobs and avoiding retrenchments. It says it would like to give workers the increases they are demanding but cannot afford to do so.