Download PDFSWF condemns bosses for locking striking Mister Sweet workers out and threatening workers with reduction in wage offer
Workers at Mister Sweet [have embarked on] a strike starting on Monday, 19 August 2024. The strike [is taking] place at Mister Sweet, Corner of Dekema and Bezuidenhout Roads, Wadeville in Gauteng.
There is no basic salary at this company. Many Mister Sweet workers have been earning very low wages of R6000 – R7000 per month for 10 years. This although Mister Sweet is owned by Premier Group Limited which last year declared a 23.4% increase in revenue to R17.9 billion [according to Business Live].
This company can afford to pay workers a living wage.
The workers are demanding a basic salary of R19 500 per month and for those who already earn R19 500 per month, a R15 per hour across-the-board increase.
The SWF condemns the Mister Sweet bosses for trying to impose a wage deal it reached with a minority union onto the SWF members.
The SWF has the right to negotiate wage increases and Mister Sweet is compelled to negotiate in good faith, not just come up with the lowest increase, sell that to a minority union, and then impose that on the rest of the workers.
Mister Sweet boss Andrew Wright has also issued the SWF a threatening letter downgrading its own so-called wage agreement. They say that if the strike lasts longer than one day, then on Day 2 of the strike, the Mister Sweet bosses will reduce their 6% increase offer unilaterally by 1%.
If the strike continues for more than one week, the Mister Sweet bosses will reduce the offer by a further 0.5%. If the strike continues for more than 3 weeks, Mister Sweet bosses will the offer by a further 0.5% until they are offering only SWF members a zero percent increase.
The SWF condemns these bad-faith negotiations and will strike until the workers get a living wage. The SWF also condemns the Mister Sweet bosses for locking out the workers.
This statement was released by the Simunye Workers Forum on 18 August 2024 and has been amended accordingly.
