27 September 2024
Striking workers gathered outside Premier‘s Mister Sweet Factory in Germiston on Wednesday as their strike for higher wages entered its 6th week. Photo: Kimberly Mutandiro
A casual worker at Premier‘s Mister Sweet Factory in Germiston is receiving treatment after his finger was cut off while on duty a week ago. The worker is among a group of casual workers who were employed by the company amid a six-week strike by hundreds of its permanent staff members.
This is not the first time a worker has lost a finger at the Mister Sweet factory. In August GroundUp spoke to one of the packing workers who lost his left middle finger a few years ago after it got caught in a mixing machine. We were told that the company never compensated the worker and only paid him for the month he was recovering at home (GroundUp cannot confirm this). The worker earns R7,000 and is among those currently on strike for higher wages, among other employment demands.
The Simunye Workers Forum, which represents the majority of the striking workers, say they are concerned that the company has continued to operate using casual workers. According to the Forum, these casual workers have not been properly trained and are expected to operate dangerous machines.
“The casual workers are not qualified to meet the company’s high production levels, and the reports of injuries are proof enough. Premier should just swallow its pride and allow its qualified workers to go back to work and give them better wages,” said Jacob Potlaki, an organiser from the Simunye Workers Forum.
He said some of the casual workers have been sleeping on bunk beds on the company premises to try and keep up with the high workload, breaching health and safety regulations.
In a statement by spokesperson Sibhion O’Sullivan, Premier insisted that casual workers currently running production at the Mr Sweet Factory are qualified. According to the company, officials from the Department of Labour had met with management at the factory on Wednesday and deemed Premier to be compliant with all health and safety requirements.
Despite several negotiation attempts with the company via the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) and Premier’s failed court bid to stop the strike, workers say their demands are far from being met.
The workers, who initially demanded a minimum wage of R19,500 a month, later requested a minimum of R12,500 for the lowest-paid workers and R16,500 for workers in higher-level positions. But the company has to date upheld its initial 7% offer.
Due to the financial strain from the ongoing strike, the Simunye Workers Forum has opened a solidarity account to allow people to make donations towards rent and food for the workers and their families.
According to O’Sullivan, 385 of a total of 602 employees are participating in the strike, and some workers have returned to work over the past few weeks. She said the company would continue to engage with the workers and their representatives to resolve the strike.