Politicians embroiled in labour issues, may scare off future investors
First they marched against Pep and then Pick n Pay. Why are politicians concerning themselves with labour issues meant for the unions and CCMA? What message does this send to future investors of the town?
HAVING already lost businesses, such as MW Beyers and Sasko, one does not need to look far to see that Vryheid’s infrastructure is not what it used to be.
Businesses shutting down means a decrease in ratepayers as many locals lose their jobs and the municipality loses yet another revenue generator.
This was the point raised by DA Zululand constituency chairperson, Cllr Sibusiso Nkosi, regarding the two marches that were conducted by the ANC and ANCYL to the local PEP and Pick ‘n Pay on Friday last week.
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In the spirit of what they called ‘fighting for the rights of the people’, the ANC took to the streets to voice their concerns on different matters pertaining to these retailers.
Their first stop was at PEP where they demanded the management team to step out as they were aggrieved by how the story regarding Siphesihle Khoza had not been settled to their satisfaction.
Miss Khoza was caught stealing slippers by PEP staff members in September 2012 and they proceeded to strip her naked and took a video of the ordeal.
The video has since been recurring on social media and Miss Khoza’s mother said that the trauma her daughter has had to deal with is more than enough now.
The ANC handed over a memorandum to PEP’s management and, among the things they demanded, was a formal apology from PEP.
The ANC demanded that PEP apologise in print and digital media for Siphesihle’s suffering.
They also demanded that PEP financially compensates Siphesihle and takes full responsibility for her rehabilitation fees.
Lastly, they demanded that there be an investigation into who gave the PEP employees the instruction to beat Siphesihle up as they felt that the staff could not have done this on their own accord.
PEP has been given seven working days since then to come up with a response to these demands.
Despite allegations of having done nothing to punish their staff, PEP did come out to say that three staff members were dismissed for gross misconduct arising out of serious assault in that they assaulted a third party with intention to do grievous bodily harm during working hours and in the scope and course of business. Two other staff members received final written warnings for collective misconduct in that they failed to report and intervene to stop a serious assault against a third party on company premises
The march was then taken up to Pick ‘n Pay where the ANC said that they were unhappy with how the staff who went on strike a few months ago were treated.
The party alleged that Pick ‘n Pay management had been treating staff members unfairly and also raised their concerns over what they called ‘racial segregation’ at this supermarket.
With memorandums having been submitted to both retailers, members of the party said that they were confident that there would be a positive change.
Although positive is what they were aiming for, Cllr Nkosi does not seem to agree, as he feels that politics should not be interfering with the town’s infrastructure.
“As politicians we cannot take sides. A chaotic town scares away potential investors,” said Cllr Nkosi.
He went on to say that the ANC should have taken into consideration that the town’s investors have already suffered enough with the water crises the town was facing yet they chose to stay.
“Now we are making them deal with political parties protesting against them? There is only so much we can expect these people to take from us”, Cllr Nkosi said.
One of the main questions raised by local business people at the budget meeting they were invited to by the municipality was: “What is AbaQulusi Municipality going to do to boost the struggling infrastructure?”
Following these marches, it is unclear whether the AbaQulusi Municipality’s politicians are going to work together to build or further ruin the town’s economy.
The ANC’s Cllr Lawrence Dube said that despite its need for investors, the town should not overlook exploitation and unfair labour practices.
“Yes we do need investors but investors who will respect human dignity and the laws of this country,” said Cllr Dube.
