Dis-Chem, Game strike to continue, despite Cup

Dis-Chem pharmacies and Game retail stores workers would hold mass protest marches today, 10 June 2010, the South African Catering and Commercial Allied Workers Union (Saccawu) said yesterday.

10 Jun 2010

"Dis-Chem workers will use the strike to further highlight the struggle of Saccawu against an intransigent management who refuses to negotiate," the union said.

Dis-Chem workers were demanding that the retailer negotiate with Saccawu on a minimum wage of R3500, a 15% increase across the board, as well as other benefits.

Game workers would protest against "the ongoing unilateral restructuring of the workplace" as well as the planned retrenchment of more than 1500 workers, Saccawu said. The owner of Game, JSE-listed Massmart, had since 2000 seen its sales more than double from R20bn to more than R43bn last year, the union said.

"Even in the period of global recession, Massmart still increased its sales by more than R10bn between 2007 and last year," Saccawu said.

The marches would take place in Durban and Sandton. In the rest of SA, workers would continue with pickets at their respective workplaces, the union said.

The employers had called on workers not to strike during the World Cup, the union said. "We want to state clearly it is the bosses that are using the World Cup competition to drive down workers' terms and conditions of employment.

"However, we will not compromise workers' rights because of the World Cup," Saccawu said.

Source: Sapa / Business Day

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