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GroundUp reports that workers are frustrated with negotiations over wages and labour conditions at Robertson Winery and a strike is on the table.
The current round of talks are the first since a prolonged 14-week strike in 2016 during which a three-year deal was hammered out. This followed boycotts that garnered international attention. With that agreement having expired in April this year, the Commercial, Stevedoring, Agricultural and Allied Workers Union (Csaawu) and the winery’s management commenced talks for a new agreement on 6 May and a second meeting was held on 22 May. Among the sticking points out of an initial list of 22 demands that have been whittled down to seven main issues, are a monthly minimum wage of R8,500, a guaranteed 13th cheque, and company transport for workers. According to Csaawu’s Deneco Dube, the company offered a 6% wage increase across the board on Wednesday. This would be an increase of R258 for general workers, which Maseko said after tax and UIF, would not be a meaningful increase. He suggested that R500 would help “close the wage gap between the general worker and top management”. Robertson’s HR Manager Reinette Jordaan would not comment on most of the workers’ demands, saying that negotiations were ongoing. Csaawu has 85 members at the winery, out of a total of 341 employees including top management.
- Read the full original of Steve Kretzmann’s detailed report on this story at GroundUp (https://www.groundup.org.za/article/threat-new-strike-robertson-winery/)
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page