Some staff members of a local Superspar recently held a protest after their demands for a salary increase and more provident fund benefits were allegedly not met.
The staff of Die Boord Superspar protested outside the Ipic commercial complex in Die Boord on 25 August, according to David Ludziya, a representative of the University and Allied Workers Union (UAWU).
Approximately 50 Superspar staff members were present at a protest outside the Ipic commercial complex in Die Boord on 25 August. The staff held signs asking for a salary increase. PHOTO: Tamsin Metelerkamp
“We are here because we are demanding terms. We are on strike, and the strike is legally planned. We demand a pay increase. Employees [have] not been getting an increase for a couple of years,” claimed Ludziya.
However, Don Fourie, co-owner of Die Boord Superspar and Neelsie Spar, told MatieMedia that all staff received annual increases in accordance with the regulated inflation rate.
“Everybody gets an increase annually, […] and whatever that minimum wage percentage increase is, gets applied to everybody in the business. This year it was in the region of 5%, but they wanted more on top of that, which is not viable for the business,” according to Fourie.
Disputes have been occurring between staff and management for the past eight months, according to Fourie. The strike is a result of the failure of the parties involved to reach an agreement, he said.
Die Boord Superspar is a grocer in the Die Boord residential area. The complex in which it is located also houses Stellenbosch Pharmacy and several other retail stores. PHOTO: Alistair Seymour
“We are protesting about the socio-economics that workers are facing now, living below the breadline. This Spar is in a wealthy area with lots of traffic and money being spent on a daily basis, and all [the workers] get is basically scraps. We feel they are worth more,” claimed Brandon Schouw, a representative of the demonstrators from Spar.
Picketing rules were agreed to between Spar, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) and the UAWU, said Fourie.
“I haven’t been impacted at all because they are cornered off and sticking in their area. I think they are after money, but unfortunately that’s something we are all struggling with,” said Diane du Toit, a customer at Die Boord Superspar, who visited the shop at the time of the protest.
Sign of the times
The strike is the product of the difficult times that both the Neelsie Spar and Die Boord Superspar have been facing since the beginning of the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, according to Fourie.
Most shoppers at Die Boord Superspar were unaware of the motives behind the Superspar staff members’ protest on 25 August, as the protest took place within a demarcated area outside the supermarket complex, said Diane du Toit, a customer at Die Boord Superspar. PHOTO: Alistair Seymour
“Covid is a reality in most people’s lives. We do respect their rights and they have been our employees for many years, but we are sitting in a time where the situation of the economy is dire,” said Fourie.
The Neelsie Spar has remained closed since March 2020, according to Fourie. The 55 staff at the Neelsie Spar initially relied on the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), before the fund stopped paying their salaries, he added.
“Most of those people have lost their jobs…what we have done in the meantime is employ all of those people [at Die Boord Superspar] when we need them,” said Fourie.