Weslander reports that fishermen associated with the Oceana Group’s Lucky Star division in St Helena Bay have decided to call their industrial action off and return to sea while they wait for their payouts.
It had previously been reported that about 80 fishermen downed tools following a dispute regarding payouts. According to the Food and Allied Workers Union’s (Fawu’s) Lungile Mwanda, the protest action lasted from Friday, 5 July to Tuesday, 9 July. He explained: “This is not necessarily a strike, but rather a downing of tools, because the guys have decided to sit down and wait for their money. It’s the water money (water tax) that has been deducted from their wages.” The deductions, which have been made since last year, amounted to 4.5%, according to one disgruntled fisherman, who claimed that this was just one concern plaguing him and his fellow workers. According to Oceana’s Zodwa Velleman, the fishermen embarked on an illegal strike at its factory on Monday, 8 July, following a miscommunication on payments to be made relating to the settlement agreement on water deductions.
- Read the full original of the report on the above at Netwerk24
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