South African Federation of Trade Unions – SAFTU
The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) fully supports members of its affiliate, the South African Industrial, Commercial and Allied Workers Union (SAICWU), who are on strike demanding a wage increase of R30 per hour at RCL
Foods – Pie.
At the beginning of the wage negotiations, SAICWU demanded R50 per hour wage increase. In a compromise, mandated by workers, SAICWU reduced the wage demand to R30 per hour. Despite the compromise by workers, the company refuses
to move from the offer of R2 per-hour wage increase it had tabled at the beginning of the negotiations.
Given this intransigent approach to negotiations, SAICWU declared a dispute and workers started their strike today, 25 August 2022.
SAFTU supports the wage demand, and strongly believe RCL Foods can afford this demand. In its 2021 annual report, RCL Foods recorded R958,1 million headline earnings (R1 billion underlying headline earnings), and paid dividends of R45 per share. This dividend constituted an 80% increase.
The captains of RCL Foods only care about themselves, and do not care about the producers of their riches, workers. Only labour creates value, and it is therefore entitled to negotiate a better slice from the proceeds of that value. If bosses continue to be greedy and hoard the riches without adequately sharing it with workers, they are helping us to confirm a conclusion our forebearers have made more than a century ago: capitalism must be abolished and replaced with socialism.
SAFTU callS on management to stop the intransigent attitude and give workers the R30 per hour wage demand. They have demonstrated in their earnings that they can afford this demand.
