Woolworths protest moves to Durban

"After the successful protest action supported by hundreds of Woolworths workers, Saccawu as part of its national campaign against the anti-union stance of Woolworths, is moving its mass action to Durban," said the trade union in a statement today.

This would be a one-day protected industrial action where the retailer's workers would march under the banner of Saccawu and hand over their memorandum at one of Woolworths' stores in Central Durban.

Saccawu said the KwaZulu-Natal action would be followed by similar protests in Cape Town, scheduled for the following week.

"Details of logistics of the protest will be circulated to all media in the next two days."

Woolworths workers demand the beginning of negotiations for a recognition agreement, stop order facilities and access to company premises to conduct legitimate union business.

"Instead the company continues with its tactics of intimidating of Saccawu members." The union said that before last week's action the company had sent circulars through its stores threatening workers of possible disciplinary action on a basis that had no bearing on the legal and protected industrial action by workers.

Saccawu members on Thursday marched in protest through the streets of Johannesburg. They handed a memorandum to the company's management. Zyda Rylands, chief operating officer of support services at Woolworths, was quoted saying that the retailer respected the rights of its workers but would recognise only unions that "show us sufficient representitivity".

"From our perspective, they [Saccawu] have less than 15% and we don't believe that to be sufficient representitivity."

Source: Sapa

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