SAB says operations unaffected by strike
The company would not say how the local depot has been affected, adding it had contingency plans in place to avoid disruptions.
NELSPRUIT – Employees of South African Breweries (SAB) who are affiliated to the Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU), began striking on Monday.
The firm declined to comment on how many workers at the local depot had been affected. “For security reasons, we unfortunately do not break down individual sites or release exact details of our contingency plans,” said Ms Robyn Chalmers, its head of media and communications.
She did say that workers had been offered a wage increase of seven per cent with performance-related pay (PRP), which would increase the average monthly pay for shift workers by R1 196 to R18 283.
The managing director, Mr Mauricio Leyva, said the increase was highly competitive and above the inflation rate for the year. “SAB is one of the highest paying employers in South Africa across all sectors, and one of the highest in the brewing industry worldwide. The average remuneration across all sectors is R4 773 and the average bargaining unit salary in the fast-moving consumer-goods sector is R9 600.”
Chalmers said the brewery was concerned that one of the main reasons behind the strike was the union’s wish to undermine PRP. “SAB is one of the world leaders in the brewing industry because it has placed a high level of importance on performance and world-class manufacturing standards. This has enabled the company to pay comparatively high wages. PRP is a key component of the company’s DNA and is critical to its continued success,” she said.
The company said it had contingency plans in place to minimise any disruption in its operations and customers and that only a small minority of workers had gone on strike, with most employees continuing to work. It also said there was uncertainty about the reasons for the strike, due to a lack of clarity on the demands of FAWU, which has allegedly not conducted a strike ballot.
“We are worried that without a ballot to assess support for the strike, members may resort to intimidation and even violence to get employees to join the strike,” Chalmers explained. She added that SAB has implemented a security plan to protect its people and assets. “We are closely monitoring the situation regarding intimidation and violence and to date nothing overt has taken place.”
