Fedusa labels Massmart conditions 'pathetic'

The tribunal approved the merger on Tuesday, subject to certain conditions, the salient ones being the establishment of a R100 million fund to develop local suppliers, continued recognition of the SA Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (Saccawu) for three years and no merger-related retrenchments for a period of two years.

"Not only are local suppliers going to be slowly pushed out of the market, but this deal will do nothing for long-term job creation," said Krister Janse van Rensburg, Fedusa's deputy general secretary.

She added that, while there was commitment to develop local suppliers, it did not translate into South African suppliers obtaining preferential treatment.

"We have missed an incredible opportunity to aid South African suppliers in tapping into Wal-Mart's global supply chain.

"With more stringent conditions, local suppliers could have been given the opportunity to significantly grow their own international export market base, especially in light of the New Growth Path's focus on key labour intensive sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing," said Janse van Rensburg.

The union federation said the major aim of a company like Wal-Mart was to acquire and sell goods as cheaply as possible.

"This may sound good to consumers now, but the knock-on effects of unemployment and direct threats to local business are frightening," it added.

Fedusa said it would be closely monitoring the deal and the inevitable knock-on effect it would have on jobs and local industries.