Dispute between SPAR and major franchisee due in court

SPAR and its largest franchisee and independent SPAR retailers the Giannacopoulos Group (GG) will face one another in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on March 13, a fortnight after the Giannacopoulos Group (GG) GG expressed its outrage at being handed down a R12 million fine by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).

This week, various national media outlets reported that GG were found to have committed various labour law violations. The group owns 23 Spar supermarket franchises and 22 Tops bottle stores in Gauteng, North West and KwaZulu-Natal. Up to 10 of these outlets were ordered to compensate workers for, among others, unlawful deductions and noncompliance with South Africa’s minimum-wage regulations.

The Giannacopoulos Family Trust Group of Companies responded with a press release accusing the Department of Employment and Labour of unjustly victimising and targeting them. They also accused SPAR of driving the CCMA and the department’s “vexatious behaviour” and maintain their innocence – despite the order to the contrary.

Departmental spokesperson, Teboho Thejane, defended the department and indicated that the department’s Inspection and Enforcement Services inspected complaints affecting SPAR stores countrywide.

“On investigation, all the stores that happened to be violating the labour laws were found to be owned by Mr Giannacopoulos (sic),” Thejane said.

The SPAR Group Ltd and The SPAR Guild of Southern Africa (NPC) did not comment on the enrolled matter between the department and the GG. However, spokesperson Mandy Hogan denied the veracity of Giannacopoulos’s allegations.

“They own their stores and employ their own staff – SPAR does not employ their staff,” she said. While Giannacopoulos held that his employees are happy at the workplace and communicated same to the department, Hogan indicated that Giannacopoulos’s employees had instituted the complaints against the group. According to reports these had included failure to issue employees with contracts, illegally employing foreign nationals and long working hours without overtime compensation.

In October last year, Zululand Observer reported that the SPAR Guild had obtained a high court order instructing the sheriff to close the doors of the GG’s stores based on what SPAR described as “unfair business practices and bringing the SPAR brand into disrepute”.

The order was overturned shortly thereafter – click here for a detailed explanation of these events unfolding. “The SPAR Group is not in possession of any of the stores belonging to the Giannacopoulos Group,” Hogan confirmed today. With reference to the CCMA’s findings against GG, she indicated that his clients SPAR cannot condone any unlawful behaviour.

Hogan confirmed that legal actions between The SPAR Group Ltd, The SPAR Guild of Southern Africa and the Giannacopoulos Group are set down for hearing on March 13. These concern SPAR’s ex parte application for its bond perfection over GG assets, their membership termination and issues relating to GG’s credit are sub judice.

“SPAR will continue to act in the best interests of its stakeholders as far as the above matters are concerned and hopes for a speedy resolution,” she concluded.