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Dairy giant Clover insists there was nothing untoward about the deductions it made from employees’ 13th cheques. It explains that the deductions were meant to compensate for the work not covered by striking employees.
The 13th cheque bonuses were due to be paid on January 14 as ordered by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) last Monday.
The company says there have been an increased number of disruptions reported at Clover’s retail partners.
“Clover respects the right of employees to strike in a peaceful and legal manner. Clover continues to act in accordance with all respective legislation, including the Labour Relations Act and the Competition Commission conditions, and remains committed to resolving the matter in a constructive manner,” it said in a statement.
Clover explained that certain deductions were also made on behalf of the employee, which needed to be recovered from the bonus cheques, as there was no other salary income (given the strike) against which to offset deductions.
READ: Striking workers remove Clover products from shop shelves
More than 4 000 Clover workers affiliated with the General Industries Workers Union of SA (Giwusa) and the Food and Allied Workers Union embarked on a strike on November 22. They are protesting Clover’s large-scale retrenchments, 20% salary cuts and an introduction of a six-day workweek with mandatory work on public holidays.
Some employees, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, said they were reliant on their full 13th cheque to pay rent and buy school supplies.
READ: Clover under fire amid restructuring, unions push for nationalisation
“I received R3 700 as opposed to the R8 500 I was supposed to get. Because of that, I cannot pay for my four-year-old who needs to attend creche and will not be able to pay for child maintenance,” said one employee.
Another employee who was set to receive a 13th cheque of R11 000 received R3 100 instead.
Giwusa president Mamatlwe Sebei said: “We are absolutely disgusted by the imperialist and racist contempt Milco/Clover is showing to the workers, the country, its institutions and laws for which workers fought very hard to achieve in the struggle against the apartheid regime.”
However, Clover has subsequently said the deductions were discussed at the CCMA meeting, and the unions were well aware that there were going to be deductions, and in many instances – significant deductions, for example garnishee orders.
"It is unclear why the unions did not communicate this to the workers."
SHOTS FIRED AT CLAYVILLE
The protracted battle with workers is not the only challenge facing Clover, according to Sebei, who said that the diary company is in violation of the conditions for merger set out by the Competition Commission.
Clover was acquired by a consortium called Milco SA in 2019 and “several conditions were attached to the deal before it was given the green light by competition authorities, including that there would be no retrenchments at Clover for at least three years. Clover and Milco agreed that there would be no job losses caused by the merger of both companies.”
However, Clover argued that they've met all the conditions of the merger.
"Clover is required to submit an annual report to the Competition Commission regarding the merger conditions, and all of them have been met so far. The closure of some factories had been approved by the Competition Commission in 2019 as this was necessary long before Milco became a shareholder.
"In a major strategic change to build our sustainability as a business, we are creating Africa’s first Dairy Industrial Park. This will require that some factories be consolidated. This was all explained at length and in detail to the Competition Commission and unions at the time. It is unclear why this issue – already dealt with in detail many years ago - would be brought to the fore now when there’s a wage dispute."
READ: Dire Christmas in store for striking Clover employees
Giwusa released a statement alleging that Clover workers were shot with rubber bullets by private security at the Clayville branch on Tuesday.
“They fired from within the premises of the company when workers were meeting to discuss issues. This was unprovoked,” the union said.
Sebei added that the shop stewards were having a meeting to distribute food parcels to the workers who have not been working for more than a year, despite a CCMA award which ruled that Clover should absorb them into permanent employment following the labour law amendments on labour broking.
According to the Giwusa statement, several employees sustained injuries.
“Once the shooting had stopped, the Giwusa shop stewards approached the security guard and asked them why they had opened fire. The guards claimed that workers had thrown stones at them but this was not the case.”
Giwusa intends to see that the security guards are prosecuted.
“It is clear that Clover has staged this shooting in order to support an urgent application for an interdict which will be heard in court on Thursday. Cheadle Thompson & Haysom will be representing Giwusa.”
SAFTU MEETS WITH PATEL
Meanwhile, SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi met with Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel on Sunday to find solutions to the onslaught against workers at Clover.
READ: Unions score a win against Clover, getting group to pay delayed bonuses
The meeting also aimed to put a moratorium on retrenchments, halt factory closures, expel Milco and find ways to acquire Clover on behalf of workers for democratic control and management with communities.
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