NESTLE STRIKE

NESTLE PENDING STRIKE

The nestle pending strike and matters of CCMA, which involves two trade unions that were on the strike AFADWU and FAWU of which there is a dispute on salary increase.

The company offering an increase of 3,5%.

The units that are involved in the strike

1.       Escourt which is at KWAZULU NATAL which is having plus 200 employees

2.       Harrismith also at KWAZULU NATAL with plus or minus 130 employees

3.       East London plant with a plant of plus or minus 300 employees

4.       Bbelegi with plus or minus 200 not organised by AFADWU but by NUFBWSAW

We started Nestle wage negotiations in September 2020. The unions in negotiations were AFADWU, FAWU, and NUFBWSAW. The implementation date of the wage increase is 1^st Jan 2021. The core issues in dispute are wage increase and wage alignment. The unions, AFADWU and NUFBWSAW are at 7,5% while the company is at 3,5%. The negotiations took long and we reached a deadlock whereby we referred a matter to CCMA. It again remained unresolved at CCMA on 11 March 2021. We went back to our respective units/sites to conduct a ballot for a strike. AFADWU balloted for a strike at both Nestle-Estcourt and Nestle-Harrismith where we got a majority. NUFBWSAW balloted for a strike at Nestle-Babeleghi and Nestle-East London where it has a majority.

While balloting, FAWU went behind our backs and requested another meeting with the company where they signed for 3,5%. After the signing of FAWU, the company called us at the table where it presented a new offer. Its new offer is a 3,5 % wage increase backdated to 1^st of January plus a once-off of R2,500. It also proposed that a Task Team with not more than 4 members from each union should be formed to deal with the issue of wage alignment. This Task Team will be given a duration of 3 months to deal with wage alignment and present its findings and recommendations to Nestle executives. It put a condition on participation to a Tsk Team that we should first sign in order to be part.

Members of the two unions, AFADWU and NUFBWSAW rejected the offer.

We again met bat CCMA on 12 May for the finalization of the Picketing Rules which is where a certificate of the strike was issued. AFADWU served Nestle this morning with a 48-hour notice to commence strike on 21 May 2021 at 08h00. NUFBWSAW will commence strike on 20 May 2021.