The Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu), which has slammed a R502-million deal between an agricultural company and a black economic empowerment (BEE) consortium, on Thursday warned it would take industrial action if its concerns were not addressed.
The deal was between agricultural services group Afgri and the consortium Agri Sizwe.
Fawu said that because its investment arm, Basebenzi Investments, was a stakeholder in the deal, the union was dissatisfied that a BEE deal would only benefit a few individuals at the expense of the poor.
General secretary Katishi Masemola said: ”A BEE deal on ownership equity that excludes workers as majority beneficiaries will be confronted, including through industrial action based on socio-economic grounds in terms of section 77 of the Labour Relations Act.”
In a statement, Fawu said it rejected with contempt an attempt of hegemonic push by some influential individuals in society to present the BEE platform as an opportunity to drive a programme of elite enrichment of black individuals, instead of broad-based empowerment of the poor masses of black people.
”In principle, we do not have a problem with black individuals earning a status of multi-millionaires or billionaires through their creativity and hard work,” it said.
”It is when individuals want to be instant multi-millionaires or billionaires at the expense of a broad base of people in a particular situation.”
Fawu said that Basebenzi had proposed that a meeting of the consortium be convened before the deal was finalised, in order to deliberate on the shareholder structure. However, despite assurances, the meeting never materialised and the deal was signed.
According to the deal, the deputy chief executive of Afgri-Finance, Dominic Sewela, and another partner would hold 51 percent stake while Fawu, through Basebenzi, would hold only 10 percent.
Other shareholders were the National Farmers Union with five percent, the National Red Meat Producers Organisation with five percent, Women’s Group-Bunang Sizwe Investments with 10 percent, and farm workers making up the remaining 19 percent.
”Basebenzi questions why two individuals should hold this big a stake in an empowerment deal of this nature.
”The structure of the deal is of such a nature that it is against the principles of broad-based black economic empowerment, which is supposed to benefit workers, not to enrich a few.” – Sapa