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Massmart tries to allay Walmart fears

Johannesburg - Massmart Holdings [JSE:MSM] executives have contacted labour unions regarding the offer by global retail giant Walmart to purchase the local company for R30bn.

In a statement on Tuesday, Massmart said this took place on Monday morning as the Walmart offer was made public.

"Massmart notes the comments that have been made regarding perceptions of Wal-Mart's union relationships," the group said.

The local company said its management was "mindful" that a corporate transaction of this nature should be aligned with the rights of all Massmart stakeholders, which clearly included the rights unions had negotiated in the organisation.

"We are committed to the principles of freedom of association for our employees and regard union membership as an important indicator of this commitment."

Massmart said it had no doubt that Walmart would honour pre-existing union relationships and abide by South African labour law.

Earlier, the Western Cape branch of the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) said it was opposed to Walmart's presence in the country.

"We are alarmed that we are even considering an offer from Walmart to take over key strategic national companies in South Africa," Cosatu said in a statement.

Walmart was "notoriously anti-union" and an affront to workers' rights wherever it operated.

"We call for urgent national action from government to investigate this hostile move by Walmart.

However, in response to Cosatu's statement, Walmart said it respected and abided by the laws of each country in which it operated.

"Walmart does not adopt a single labour relations strategy because each country is different."

The group said it honoured existing union relationships and contracts within acquired companies, as well as actively implementing work environments based on "respect for the individual".

According to the group, approximately 50% of the countries in which it operated had unions at some level.

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