Maravi

Shoprite workers stage another countrywide protest

Shoprite workers stage another countrywide protest
Written by Ernest Chanda
Tuesday, August 11, 2009 5:26:33 PM

SHOPRITE-ZAMBIA workers have today staged a countrywide protest over poor conditions of service barely three weeks after they again withdrew labour. And National Union for Commercial and Industrial Workers (NUCIW) general secretary John Bwalya confirmed the development in an interview, saying the action was meant to push for a better insurance scheme for all Shoprite Zambia workers.

According to sources from all Shoprite outlets in the country, they have decided to stay away from work until they are given a pension scheme with conditions as stipulated by the Zambian labour laws.

At Manda Hill and Town Centre outlets in Lusaka, scores of workers carried mock coffins and chanted solidarity slogans and sang gospel songs as they also danced around within the premises.

In Mansa, Shoprite workers also vowed not to go back to work until their demands were met.

One union official said the matter affected everyone in Zambia including management.

“This is not just about us the junior employees, even management are affected. It affects them because their pensions will also be calculated at South African rates which are a mockery by our standards. Today we are expecting Shoprite Group chief executive officer Whiteney Bason into the country to address the issue,” he said.

And according to a union official from Mandal Hill branch who sought anonymity, the entire Shoprite workforce in the country is demanding an insurance scheme that that was in line with the existing Zambian labour laws.

“This protest is likely to go on for some time if management does not grant our demands. The last time we held a one day protest in some selected outlets we were promised that management would look into our plight. The problem is not with Shoprite-Zambia management. The problem is with our headquarters in South Africa where they give us conditions based on their laws, the source said.

“Fort example, we’ve been demanding that our insurance scheme should be calculated according to our local conditions of two and half months per year. But people from headquarters are putting us on South African conditions of 0.5 months per year; this is unacceptable!”

The source said labour deputy minister Simon Kachimba’s earlier intervention could not yield results.

“When the ministry of labour intervened in this issue over three weeks ago they gave Shoprite a one week ultimatum to sort out this issue. Then from there the [labour] deputy minister [Simon Kachimba] said on a Wednesday we can meet and conclude everything, that wasn’t done. The today everything was supposed to have been concluded as said by the minister,” the source explained.

“But Shoprite management as usual has backed out and just sent a letter to the minister saying we are unable to come. And the reason they are putting on their letter is not all that concrete because they were giving the excuse that Monday is a holiday in South Africa, so they couldn’t meet the minister. We’ve talking about the pension issue for years now and now our members are saying even the minister is dragging his feet. So, we have no option but to go on a countrywide protest. Perhaps we can be understood this time by the powers that be.”

And Bwalya said the workers have been incensed by the delay to implement their pension scheme.

“Yes, it is true that all Shoprite Zambia workers have started a countrywide protest over their delayed pension scheme. Their demand is that the rate at which the scheme is being calculated is very small. The Zambian management is cooperative, but the problem is coming from the headquarters in South Africa. The people responsible there don’t want to be coopersative and yet it’s an issue that affects every Shoprite Zambia employee, including those in management.” said Bwalya.

Efforts to get a comment from Shoprite Zambia deputy managing director Charles Bota failed as his phone was just ringing.

Three weeks ago Shoprite workers in selected outlets across the country staged a one day sit-in protest to push for increased salaries and improved conditions of service.

Labels: NUCIW, SHOPRITE, STRIKE

posted by MrK @ 4:27 PM