A number of Distell’s secondary production line workers began an unprotected strike on November 14 which resulted, late last week, in 81 of them being suspended on full pay pending the outcome of a disciplinarily process.
“Distell can confirm that some of its secondary production employees at its Springs plant embarked on an unprotected strike,” said Heidi Bartis, group manager: communication, transformation and diversity Distell Group Limited, when the Addie visited the company last Wednesday (November 20).
The majority of workers on strike are displeased with management for ignoring their demands.
The National Union of Food, Beverage, Wine, Spirits and Allied Workers (NUFBWSAW) represent the majority of workers at this plant, and according to the general secretary of NUFBWSAW, Boaz Mashele, members are guided by the Recognition Agreement (RA) with the company.
Following the start of the strike, Distell secured a court order on November 15 and issued staff with an ultimatum, on November 15 and again on November 18, that they should return to work with immediate effect. Failing this, the company made it clear it would institute disciplinarily action against anyone who remained on strike.
Workers served the company with 48 hours notice, last Monday, informing management about the workers’ demands which needed to be resolved between the company and the union.
Mashele says workers demanded an office space for union operations within the plant; General workers tasked with the responsibility to operate at the higher grade to be paid the differential salary as per the RA.
“Forklift drivers who are currently rated at a Grade 4 level according to the RA refused to perform duties of Grade 1 workers as per the company’s continued practice for the past five years,” he says.
According to the workers a Grade 1 worker’s duties cannot be performed by fork lifters. These duties include poking holes in pallets covered with plastic to cool the material/product before use.
They unanimously claim cutting pallet strips by writing the number of pallets off-loaded or loaded by forklifts. cannot be done by Grade 1 workers.
Mashele adds the union relates to these demands, but Distell management is not willing to abide by the RA when allocating duties to workers and this creates a resistance on the side of workers in performing their duties.
According to NUFBWSAW legal department representative Thabani Zondo, the dispute of right currently exist between the two parties which has led to this unprotected strike.
When approached by the Advertiser, Distell declined to comment on the ongoing negotiations between itself and workers.
Zondo says meetings held since the November 14 has failed to resolve a matter due to the company not willing to play according to the rules.
On Wednesday, Mashele told the Addie: “At the moment NUFBWSAW has suspended the unprotected strike unconditionally but the company has resorted to locking out almost 350 employees since last Wednesday.”
However, after intervention by Mashele, some workers were allowed access to the premises with only about 81 workers still refused entry.
In a letter sent to Zondo and Mashele, on November 21, from Distell’s general manager Hugo Wium, the company acknowledged notification from NUFBWSAW that the strike had been “unconditionally suspended”. However, Wium noted that the union’s undertaking appeared to be conditional.
The company stated that striking employees could return to work at any stage unconditionally.
However, “in light of the continued unprotected strike, and the intimidating and/or disruptive conduct displayed by striking employees and in relation to which the Company was again required to approach the Labour Court for urgent interdictory relief today (November 21) the company has taken the decision to suspend all of the employees who have participated in the unprotected strike on full pay as from 5:50pm November 21 pending the outcome of the disciplinary process.”
In a letter to the union, dated November 22, Wium wrote: “On 19 November 2013, the company issued a notice of intention to dismiss your members in terms of which you and your members were requested to make written submissions regarding their alleged misconduct and/or why they should not be dismissed by the Company. The Company has not received any written submissions from you and/or your members in this regard.”
The letter further stated that a November 19 letter, to Zondo and Mashele, set out the company’s intension to dismiss three of the shop stewards involved in the strike action.
Since no response was received, the company, the letter stated, had therefore instructed its representatives to proceed with the necessary action.
The strike was called off on November 21, with most of the workers returning to work, bar the 81 who will face disciplinary action.
