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Cape Town - The South African Breweries said on Monday in a statement that it is worried that striking members demanding a pay hike may resort to intimidation and violence.
The Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu) served the South African subsidiary of brewer SABMiller [JSE:SAB] with a notice of strike action after demanding a pay increase of 9.5%.
A small minority of workers have gone on strike and SAB’s operations are unaffected, the company said.
SAB has encouraged Fawu to conduct a ballot, adding that it believes that the majority of workers want to continue working.
"We are worried that without a ballot to assess support for the strike, members may resort to intimidation and even violence to get employees to join the strike,” SAB MD Mauricio Leyva said.
Security measures have also been put in place to protect those people who wish to work.
Leyva said the company would retain its 7% wage offer despite the strike.
“SAB is one of the highest paying employers in South Africa across all sectors, and one of the highest in the brewing industry worldwide.
"If our offer was accepted by the union, our average shift worker’s salary would rise to R18 283.09 a month, inclusive of allowances.
"In comparison, the average remuneration across all sectors is R4 773 and the average bargaining unit salary in the FMCG sector is R9 600," he said.
Reuters reported earlier on Monday that over 2 000 workers downed tools.
Fawu general secretary Katishi Masemola told Sapa that more workers will join the strike on Tuesday.
- Fin24
The Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu) served the South African subsidiary of brewer SABMiller [JSE:SAB] with a notice of strike action after demanding a pay increase of 9.5%.
A small minority of workers have gone on strike and SAB’s operations are unaffected, the company said.
SAB has encouraged Fawu to conduct a ballot, adding that it believes that the majority of workers want to continue working.
"We are worried that without a ballot to assess support for the strike, members may resort to intimidation and even violence to get employees to join the strike,” SAB MD Mauricio Leyva said.
Security measures have also been put in place to protect those people who wish to work.
Leyva said the company would retain its 7% wage offer despite the strike.
“SAB is one of the highest paying employers in South Africa across all sectors, and one of the highest in the brewing industry worldwide.
"If our offer was accepted by the union, our average shift worker’s salary would rise to R18 283.09 a month, inclusive of allowances.
"In comparison, the average remuneration across all sectors is R4 773 and the average bargaining unit salary in the FMCG sector is R9 600," he said.
Reuters reported earlier on Monday that over 2 000 workers downed tools.
Fawu general secretary Katishi Masemola told Sapa that more workers will join the strike on Tuesday.
- Fin24
