AS the industrial strike at dairy manufacturer Clover continues, the company has resolved to fire picketing workers after the bargaining table was abandoned last week.
Clover and the General Industrial Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA) have failed to reach a settlement on wages, work hours and other conditions as the strike entered its fourth month on Tuesday.
Mediation by bodies including the CCMA, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and department of labour and the department of Trade Industry and Competition could not bridge the gap between he parties.
"We met with the unions last week and they rejected our latest offer out of hand. We cannot keep going in circles, up and down and all over the place. We have given our final offer in writing, there are no more deals on the table," said Clover's Group Legal Manager and Company secretary Steven Velthuysen.
Giwusa's secretary-general John Appolis could not be reached for comment.
Velthuysen said Clover would invoke all legal processes to replace the 644 workers as some of the workforce had surreptitiously returned to work, especially delivery truck drivers..
"Our last offer was to say there would be a limit on salary cuts to the maximum of 30 percent, we offered backpay for eight months on a three year agreement. We have 7 000 other employees to think of, we cannot be held back by a cluster.
“We had offered the salary cuts as an alternative to termination of employment. About 63 percent of the workers have accepted the conditions and they are back at work, we have to replace the 30 percent plus workers who are unwilling to work," Velthuysen said.
A worker who cannot be named confirmed the strike was still on and would intensify after the company employed strong arm tactics, including the closure of operations in Oliphantsfontein and Clayville.
"Clover is now using labour brokers, they have asked the horse and trailer drivers to come back. They have sent their security teams to beat us when we picket. We are still sitting at home with no jobs," the worker said.
Workers are demanding that Clover stop plans for further retrenchments, factory closures, salary cuts and for dismissed workers to be reinstated. They also want the company to be independent of the Israeli company Central Bottling Company (CBC) which acquired Clover through the Milco SA consortium in 2019.
At least one person, a security officer, has so far died.
"That security officer was following us and making threats when we went to picket at the Atlas, some workers then beat him up. The salary cuts are too deep, there are people whose pay was cut from R14 000 to about R3 000. We are going ahead with the fight," the worker said.
Velthuysen said there had been an impact on the company's business as it tended to happen with industrial action, but the group had mobilised different resources to ensure they still delivered to their customers.
"The supply chain is functional, we are still delivering to our customers. Everything we have done so far has been within the rules of the labour relations act, we are comfortable that we are acting within the law," Velthuysen said.
He said the company's position was based on strategy developed from 2014 called project Sencillo aimed at simplifying its processes, and address service delivery issues in various municipalities by semi-centralising operations to areas where the company could be most effective and profitable.
"We want to be closer to our sources of milk. This strategy has been discussed at length with the Competition Commission which gave us approval to improve our operations. We have to restructure due to the poor economic conditions. We have been consistent.
“ Even when Covid-19 struck we were still able to continue operating because we are an essentials service company. We paid extra money to keep going. There have been massive declines in volumes in our various operations including Danone, Eskort and Enterprise brands," Velthuysen said.
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