Dynamite comes in small packages at Saint Giles

DESPITE physical disabilities, employees at Saint Giles work centre fold and fill thousands of boxes of spices each day. Among the team is Emmanual Qulu who folds about 500 boxes per hour using just one hand to get the job done.

Qulu (54), who was diagnosed with Polio as a child, only has use of his left hand. He has been folding boxes for two decades.

“I started working here in 2001. I like this work. Through this job, I support my wife and three children. I have two boys and one girl. My first-born is 21, my second child is 17 and my daughter is seven years old,” he said.

Acting manager, David Storm said Qulu is one of eight people who pack and fill spice cartons.

“Emmanuel and his partner have to fold 2500 cartons in a shift to supply the team in the packing hall. This is approximately 1000 cartons folded per hour,” added Storm.

He said 28 people are employed under Unilver in the packing process while Saint Giles’s work centre employs 74 people, including 68 people with disabilities.

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“We have two dedicated filling halls and three other halls that we use for sundry jobs such as plastic assemblies and (packaging) other food products that have to be kept separate from the spices. You don’t want cinnamon getting contaminated with tea, so we have each production hall sealed off,” he explained.

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According to Storm, Unilever has supported Saint Giles for 46 years, since 1976 under the Robertsons Herbs & Spices banner.

“Some spices such as bay leaves and cinnamon sticks cannot be packed by machine- they have to be hand packed.

“That is how Robertsons Herbs & Spices was introduced into Saint Giles,” he said,

Once the boxes are folded, they are sent to the packing room, where four teams work to pack the boxes.

Each team consists of one person who fills and weighs the bag and another person who seals the packet and packs the carton.

“The four teams will fill four crates each in an hour. Every 15 minutes they fill 120 cartons,” said Storm.

While the initiative creates employment for people with disabilities, the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted work opportunities when spice shipments have been delayed.

“From July we had a good run of work, but we are starting to see that the supply chain has slowed down quite a bit. The third wave is causing a lot of supply and demand issues,” he said.

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