The Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU), proudly supported by the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU), celebrates a resounding and precedent-setting victory in the Labour Court against South African Breweries/ Anheuser-Busch InBev (SAB/InBev ).

This victory closely follows NUMSA’s historic win against ArcelorMittal, reaffirming that the tide is turning against corporate arrogance, union-bashing, and the ongoing retrenchment bloodbath engulfing South Africa’s workplaces.

Court Orders SAB to Reinstate Dismissed Workers.

Today, the Labour Court in Johannesburg handed down a powerful and unambiguous judgment in favour of FAWU, ordering:

1. The reinstatement of all dismissed FAWU members;
2. An immediate halt to SAB’s unlawful restructuring process;
3. Full disclosure of all documents SAB relied upon to justify retrenchments; and
4. A recommencement of proper, fair, and lawful consultations under Sections 189 and 189A of the Labour Relations Act (LRA).

This judgment exposes SAB’s procedurally unfair, bad-faith, and premature attempt to dismiss workers while concealing crucial information, defying CCMA facilitator rulings, and refusing to extend consultations without any valid reason for urgency.

A Victory for All Workers & Corporate Impunity Challenged

The Court found that SAB’s conduct fundamentally undermined meaningful consultation by:

• Withholding critical documents and data from the union;
  • Prematurely implementing restructuring plans;
  • Misleading the CCMA facilitator about recent retrenchments; and
  • Refusing to extend consultations despite facing no financial crisis or operational urgency.

This ruling is not merely a legal win; it is a political, organisational, and moral triumph for the entire working class, particularly amid a national crisis of job losses and economic instability.

SAFTU: “Union Power is Rising: ArcelorMittal, SAB, Who’s Next?”

SAFTU hails this ruling as another hammer blow against corporate impunity and union victimisation. Coming only weeks after NUMSA’s victory at ArcelorMittal, this judgment sends a clear message: “If you attack one worker, you attack us all, and you will lose.”

SAFTU reaffirms that the era of reckless retrenchments, outsourcing, labour broking, and unilateral restructuring without transparency or genuine consultation is over.

Employers across South Africa are now on notice; the law, the unions, and the workers are watching.

A Major Moral Victory Ahead of SAFTU’s Jobs Loss Task Team Meeting

This ruling lands on the eve of the SAFTU Jobs Loss Task Team meeting, scheduled for 8 November 2025, which will confront the escalating wave of job losses across factories, farms, plants, and warehouses in every province.

The judgment gives fresh momentum, confidence, and moral authority to the working- class movement as SAFTU and its affiliates prepare to:

1. Plan factory occupations where closures or retrenchments are threatened;
2. Pursue worker-led takeovers of abandoned or collapsing plants and mines;
3. Advance the SAFTU Campaigns Committee’s Programme of Action; and
4. Mobilise workers to defend every job and challenge every retrenchment.

This victory reaffirms a simple truth:

• Workers can win.
  • The courts can be compelled to uphold justice.
  • Employers cannot trample the working class with impunity.

A Warning to Employers Misusing Section 189 and 189A

The Labour Court’s judgment sends a decisive message to employers:

• Section 189A is not a shortcut to mass retrenchments;
  • Transparency and disclosure are non-negotiable;
  • Fake consultations will not stand;

• And unions will challenge every unlawful restructuring that undermines

workers’ rights.

FAWU and SAFTU Demand Immediate Compliance

1. Reinstate all dismissed workers immediately, with full rights, pay, and benefits restored;
2. Disclose all relevant information and documentation, including methodology, KPIs, factual findings, and restructuring proposals;
3. Return to the consultation process in good faith, not as a tick-box exercise; and
4. Comply fully with the CCMA facilitator’s directives and the Labour Court order.

Solidarity and the Rising Power of Worker Unity

FAWU extends heartfelt appreciation to SAFTU and all its affiliates for their unwavering solidarity throughout this struggle. This victory strengthens the growing wave of worker-led resistance against retrenchments, outsourcing, and corporate greed.

With every win from ArcelorMittal to SAB and beyond, the working class becomes more united, more confident, and more determined to fight for dignity, decent work, and economic justice.

This ruling is a triumph:

• For FAWU members who stood firm;
  • For every worker facing retrenchment or casualisation;
  • For the right to fair consultation and collective bargaining
  • For the principle of solidarity, and
  • For the renewed power of organised labour.

Today, workers return to their jobs with dignity restored. Today, SAB learns that no company is above the law.

Today, the working class takes another decisive step forward in the fight for justice, equality, and power at the point of production.

Issued by the General Secretaries of:

Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU) Cde Edwin Mabowa

South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) Cde Zwelinzima Vavi

For media enquiries:

Cde Dominque Martin – FAWU Media and Communication Officer 082 498 5631 Cde Newton Masuku – SAFTU Spokesperson 066 168 2157