Business Unity South Africa (Busa) will try to help resolve the dispute between Woolworths and the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers’ Union (Saccawu), the union said on Friday.
”The response was quite positive. They said they would raise the issues contained in our memorandum with Woolworths and the Retailers Association. We will get a response on Monday,” said Saccawu spokesperson Mike Abrahams.
This after Busa’s chief executive officer, Jerry Vilakazi, received a memorandum from about 2 000 protesters in Sandton.
Woolworths and Saccawu have been locked in a dispute for weeks over the union’s right to represent workers at the retailer. The company has claimed that only 15% of its workforce were Saccawu members, which it said was not enough.
Saccawu believed Woolworths was trying to be ”union free”.
Woolworth’s chief operating officer, Zyda Rylands, said the strike had minimal impact on trading and all the retailer’s shops were open for business. A few shops were, however, closed for ”a short while” on Friday after picketing rules were infringed.
”They were open after a court interdict for them to abide by the picketing rules was issued,” said Rylands.
She said only 5% of their workforce participated in the strike, which was proceeding on a no-work-no-pay basis.
Meanwhile, nothing concrete has come out of a meeting held at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration to consider an application for the amendment of strike rules. This would enable workers to picket inside Woolworths stores. — Sapa