CWAO IN THE NEWS

Early this morning, workers placed at the Heineken Brewery in Sedibeng began a peaceful, protected strike. But within hours a Judge of the Labour Court had issued an order interdicting it - despite a different Judge having ruled last Friday that the strike would be protected!

 The path to a protected strike was a long and difficult one:  Despite being sold out by trade unions, the workers have been following complicated strike laws to ensure that their strike is protected.  It took them three months to obtain the certificate which protects their strike.

Workers have many grievances: they earn low wages, many of them have to work outdoors day and night and some are not even guaranteed work – they can be sent home again without wages if the weather is bad.  Despite the fact that most have been working at the Sedibeng Brewery for years, Heineken refuses to recognise that they are labour broker workers who are now deemed permanent.

The workers tried to discuss their concerns with the bosses, who refused to meet with them.  They went to the Road Freight Bargaining Council, and a commissioner told the bosses to negotiate.  But the bosses were rude and aggressive during the negotiations, and eventually the workers were issued a strike certificate.  On 3 September they gave notice of a protected strike, but the Labour Court interdicted the strike without even hearing the workers side.  The workers had to find lawyers, who managed to argue their side of the case two weeks later.  On Friday 5 October the Labour Court confirmed that the strike would be protected.

But the employers were not happy with that decision and went to the Labour Court again today. Ignoring Friday’s judgment, the Labour Court today decided that it would be convenient to order the workers to stop striking, and that they could “ventilate” their issues until the court return on December 12^th.  There are no further reasons for the order, and the strike has been banned, again.  Unlike the rich companies, the workers are running out of resources to keep going back to court.

“Courts’ frequent failure to appreciate the limits of their statutory powers, and the adverse consequences of blocking workers’ access to their constitutional rights is disappointing.  The Labour Court should not permit itself to be used as a weapon in the hands of the employers.  Worker rights are being trumped by access to resources, which is exactly what the labour law framework is intended to prevent.  While we respect that the latest order is binding, we intend to legally challenge this growing practice,” says Bhavna Ramji, who is representing the workers in this matter.

“It is a big problem for the collective bargaining system that workers, who have every right to engage in a power play with employers in support of their interests, are stopped by the courts from doing so.  Labour law is supposed to promote collective bargaining.  These days, it is promoting companies disrespecting and refusing to engage with their workers,” says Meme Makhaula of the Casual Workers Advice Office.

Instead of negotiating with the workers, their labour broker employers (Imperial Managed Solutions and LSC Masakhe) have repeatedly used procedural and legal loopholes to deny workers their rights. Today they have relied on the anti-strike sentiments of Labour Court judges to make sure they continue to procure cheap black labour to a Dutch multinational that continues to pretend it has nothing to do with the matter.

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For information and comment contact:
Bhavna Ramji 081 598 3673
Ighsaan Schroeder 079 888 2229

Category: PRESS RELEASE | WORKERS RIGHTS