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Employees want 10% wage increase

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No end in sight for drug company’s striking workers in Port Elizabeth.  Photo by Joseph Chirume
No end in sight for drug company’s striking workers in Port Elizabeth. Photo by Joseph Chirume

ASPEN Pharmacare workers in Port Elizabeth and East London have embarked on a strike.

They demand a 10% wage rise across all workers.

However, the company is offering a 7% increase.

Eastern Cape organiser for the South African Chemical Workers Union, Thulani Radasi, said they have many unsolved grievances with the company.

He said the strike involves more than 1 200 workers in the East London and Port Elizabeth depots.

He said: “We have a number of demands, but top of the list is the mandated 10% the labour is demanding instead of the 7% the company is offering.

“As the workers, representatives, we are also being disrespected by the company as the management doesn’t allow us to hold negotiations with them within the premises. We are negotiating outside in the open.”

Radasi said the company doesn’t want to employ on a full-time basis contract workers who have been within the pharmaceutical entity for many years.

He said: “We have workers who have worked for the company for more than 10 years but they are still called contract workers.

“They should be employed full-time and their benefits from all these years be paid to them.”

Radasi also complained that the company was not replying to the union’s e-mails.

“We wrote an e-mail to the company, requesting for negotiations regarding the issue of extending the bargaining unit – which they haven’t responded to for over three months now,” Radasi said.

The workers embarked on a similar strike in May.

“The company won a Labour Court case forcing the workers to abandon the strike.”

Radasi said the May strike was not protected, but the present one is.

The company’s head of communication Shauneen Beukes said: “The company does not engage in union-related issues through the media.

“These are handled directly with the union and should a statement be required we will issue a formal press release.

“We further confirm that we are having ongoing discussions with the union representatives regarding the strike and picketing action.”

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