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Union threatens Woolworths with court

WARNED: Sandile Zungu said that rising costs mean job losses. PHOTO: Robert Tshabalala/ Financial Mail
WARNED: Sandile Zungu said that rising costs mean job losses. PHOTO: Robert Tshabalala/ Financial Mail

A UNION has threatened to take Woolworths to the labour court after the giant retailer put some of its employees on forced leave.

This came as employees were forced to go on leave this week after they challenged Woolworths' decision to convert their full-time employment contract into a flexi-hour contract and slash their wages by about 50%

"As for the tactic by the company to force those workers who have not accepted the company's outrageous offer to go on leave, we believe this is nothing short of attempts to coerce workers into accepting the unfavourable contracts the company is now trying to impose on workers," said South African Commercial and Catering Workers Union (Saccawu) spokesman Mike Abrahams.

"We will return to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) on October 26 and possibly again on November 4," he said.

"If we do not succeed there we will be compelled to go to the Labour Court." he said.

The battle between Saccawu and Woolworths started in August when the company offered 600 employees who had worked for the retailer for more than two decades three options that included a salary cut, or early retirement or voluntary retrenchment.

Abrahams said Woolworths' "supposedly voluntary process has been rejected by the majority of affected workers, which led management to invoke a CCMA facilitation process to reach some consensus between the disputing parties".

He said the union has been against Woolworths reducing the salaries and benefits of full-time workers.

Abrahams said throughout the CCMA process, Woolworths has been rejecting alternative options proposed by the union.

An employee who was put on forced leave accused Woolworths of intimidation.

"The company was intimidating me by saying we had to choose an offer by October or else go on leave until the matter was resolved," the employee said.

"Why should I accept an offer that will lower my standard of living drastically?" she asked.

Woolworths failed to respond to questions at the time of going to print.

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