Alcohol ban could see ‘tens of thousands’ of jobs lost

The liquor ban could see tens of thousands of jobs lost in the industry and the Food and Allied Workers’ Union (Fawu) has asked the government to implement a moratorium on retrenchments and cuts in wage and fringe benefits.

Fawu said it had to intervene on behalf of workers when employers wanted to cut the wages by 10% due to the ban. Others still plan to retrench in large numbers, it said.

The retrenchments would add to the current high unemployment worsen the current economic crisis and aggravate the country’s socio-economic situation.

“Out of the lowest earners, one worker supports a family of more than five people and for them it remains the only source of income. The loss of each job contributes to many members of the society being subjected to hunger,” said union general secretary Mngomezulu Mayoyo.

The union, the biggest in the food sector, representing workers in the beer, wine, spirit, cider and entire value chain, feared that many employers planned to vent their anger against government by retrenching workers.

The union demanded that the employers and the government must involve unions and all stakeholders before any decision was taken and such a decision must be inclusive of all stakeholders.

Mayoyo said the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 12 July was done without consultation with stakeholders, including unions. The restriction had put the jobs of their members at risk, he said.

“Fawu members are outraged about this decision as it degrades them as human beings with families who should have been given an opportunity to prepare before complying with the regulations,” Mayoyo said.

The ban also inconvenienced township beer sellers, who had to spend extra to stock up because they were unsure how long the ban would last.

“Workers should not be the ones to fund any shortfall because of this reckless decision of government while it remains silent on the impact this will have on workers. The government must therefore play its role to mitigate deficiencies that shall be faced by the people who survive by selling alcohol,” Mayoyo said.

Since the distribution of liquor was also banned, some companies had stopped transporting alcohol directly to the market.

At companies that were still able to do primary distribution from manufacturing departments to the depot/warehouse, workers risked being detained by law enforcement agencies.

–ericn@citizen.co.za

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