
SAFTU Rejects Censorship by Bosses of Natures Garden
The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) condemns apartheid tactics applied by the bosses of Natures Garden who have launched an interdict application against SAFTU’s GIWUSA and SAFTU for merely using social media to highlight the demands of workers and the intransigence of the employers.
Over 300 workers who are members of GIWUSA a SAFTU affiliate, embarked on protected strike action at Nature Garden against the starvation of members. The Natures Garden has slapped across their starving faces with a zero percent (0%) wage increase. Workers followed all the procedures as outlined in the Labour Relations Act by referring a mutual interest dispute at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) the matter remains unresolved, and GIWUSA members embarked on a strike.
The first strike notice issued was that workers are demanding
• 18% wage increase across the board
• A minimum wage of R10,000 for all employees
• The scrapping of labour brokers
• And the conditions of employment to be equal to all permanent employees
The second strike notice issued workers are demanding
• 15% increase in the day shift allowance as well as a 25% increase for night shift allowance
• Also the rampant and vicarious retrenchment to be reversed since the employer ruthlessly give workers crumps on their retrenchment packages
The strike action went ahead as planned and mostly joined by other civil society organizations on a Boycotting campaign against Natures Garden. Instead of the employer engaging meaningful on all legitimate demands, they then decided to interdict workers and SAFTU based on the most flimsiest and baseless grounds. The company is interdicting the strike because it is not happy with the GIWUSA and SAFTU media statements including our use of the social media platforms to draw the attention of the working class and the general public to the plight of workers employed by Natures Garden.
Instead of improving the offer and engaging with the union members meaningfully, the bosses of Natures Garden have chosen to polarize the relationship with the union.
SAFTU condemn Natures Garden management in the strongest possible way. The verkrampte behavior from bosses will not help solve the dispute but push workers into the trenches.
SAFTU is in full support of GIWUSA who have vowed to protect the constitutionally guaranteed workers right to freedom of expression. The matter is scheduled for Tuesday 25 August at the South Gauteng High Court. We are calling all formations to join hands in rejecting this draconian interdict by the bosses. If we allow this to happen, South Africa workers won’t have a right to mobilize for sympathy and solidarity which will lead to the workers fighting a lonely battle that will lead to the defeat of the strike. Collective bargaining will be reduced to collective bargaining. The social surplus value produced by workers will be expropriated without compensation by the few.
We are calling all progressive formations from Right2Know, Trade Unions, Youth and Students, Woman Organizations to join us tomorrow when we picket outside the Gauteng South High Court in defence of our right to freedom of expression.
Injury to one it’s an injury to all!!!!!!!
Issued by General Secretary of SAFTU
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