The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) supports the Union Against Hunger’s condemnation of Shoprite’s excessive executive pay and its failure to put affordable, nutritious food within the reach of working-class and poor families.
According to the UAH, Shoprite chief executive Pieter Engelbrecht received R117.8 million in the 2026 financial year, a package reportedly 35% higher than the previous year. That is an indefensible sum in a country where millions go hungry, children are dying from malnutrition, and Shoprite workers themselves earn among the lowest wages paid by major listed companies. The UAH reports that median monthly pay for workers in the bargaining unit is below R8,000 before deductions.
This is not simply a debate about one executive’s remuneration. It exposes the priorities of a powerful food retailer whose business depends on the daily labour of its workers and the spending of millions of ordinary people. Workers who keep Shoprite’s stores running deserve decent wages and secure livelihoods. Families who rely on those stores deserve affordable essential foods. Neither should be sacrificed to enrich one executive.
SAFTU is also deeply concerned that a bespoke incentive plan for the CEO passed despite almost half of ordinary shares voted rejecting it, after the support of former Shoprite chairperson Christo Wiese’s deferred shares proved decisive. The reported concentration of voting power raises serious questions about whose interests corporate decision-making serves.
Shoprite cannot claim that it is unable to reduce the price of essential foods while finding tens of millions of rand for executive rewards. We support the UAH’s demands that Shoprite:
- Reduce the prices of ten essential foods needed to address child malnutrition before approving another major CEO bonus.
- Publish a credible plan to pay a living wage across its stores.
- Appear before the South African Human Rights Commission to answer for its food prices and practices.
We further support the call for the Public Investment Corporation, as Shoprite’s largest shareholder and custodian of public servants’ pensions, to disclose how it voted on the incentive plan and explain its decision.
The food retail sector has a responsibility to the people whose labour and purchasing power sustain it. In a society marked by hunger, poverty and extreme inequality, executive pay practices that deepen these divides are morally indefensible. They demand public scrutiny and a change in priorities.
SAFTU stands in solidarity with the Union Against Hunger, Shoprite workers and all those demanding that food be treated as a necessity, workers be treated with dignity, and corporate power be held accountable.
A statement was issued on behalf of SAFTU by the General Secretary, Zwelinzima
Vavi.
For media inquiries, contact the National Spokesperson at
Newton Masuku
066 168 2157
Newtonm@saftu.org.za
Media Officer
Asive Dyani
0719019564
