It was too early to tell how widely supported a strike by Pick ‘n Pay employees was or how many stores were affected, the retailer said on Friday morning.
”It will be about lunchtime when we get a clearer idea,” Pick ‘n Pay chief executive Sean Summers said.
He was ”rather distressed by threats by shop stewards and union officials” to disrupt trading at some stores.
”We also have a legal right to exercise our business,” Summers said, and apologised to customers for the inconvenience caused.
A meeting with the union on Thursday evening, which had lasted until midnight, had again been ”stonewalled”, he said.
”We’ve been in negotiations for seven months. The unions have not moved by one point. We are one of the highest payers in the industry. We’ve offered an increase above what the union has settled for in other industries,” Summers said.
It was important to remember that regardless of the outcome of the situation, the relationship between management and workers would not change, he said.
”At the end of this process we will all still be colleagues and co-workers. We must never lose sight of that.”
Mduduzi Mbongwe of the SA Catering and Allied Workers Union said about 150 supermarket outlets would be hit by the strike by 20 000 workers.
Pick n Pay is offering a R310 increase per month or 7,9%, while the union is demanding a R400 increase or 12%, whichever is greater.
He said the strike would be focused on super and hypermarkets and not family stores and mini-markets. – Sapa