Foreign support for ABI strike

Johannesburg - The Service Employees International Union (Seiu) of North America has lent its support to Food and Allied Workers' Union (Fawu) members striking at Coca-Cola ABI in South Africa.

Visiting officials from Seiu called on Coca-Cola to improve workers' conditions and pay.

"We stand together with our brothers and sisters of the Fawu in South Africa who, for five weeks, have been on strike protesting Coca-Cola ABI's ongoing practice of eroding workers' conditions and benefits through labour-broking and the use of short-term contracts," Seiu president Andy Stern and Seiu secretary-treasurer Anna Berger said in a statement on Monday.

They called on Coca-Cola ABI to pay the 9.5% wage increase demanded by its workers and to cease its efforts "to undermine workers' conditions".

They said Fawu workers had already called for a consumer boycott of Coca-Cola products by members of the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu).

"If Coca-Cola ABI continues to refuse to treat their workers fairly and to deny a decent wage, we will seek support for this campaign from our members and other unions in the United States and Canada."

A delegation from Seiu, a trade union with 2.2 million members in North America, visited South Africa last week.

During the visit, Stern, Berger and other officials met President Jacob Zuma and South African unions.

Meanwhile ABI - a soft drink division of brewery group SABMiller - was offering an actual salary increase of 7.8% or an 8.3% total package increase.

According to the company, less than a third of 3 800 employees were on strike, while Fawu insisted more than 2 000 workers were involved in the industrial action.

- Sapa