Striking Fawu members lower wage demand at Ceres Fruit Growers to 8%
- Published on 7 Oct 2015
- HR Pulse News Desk
Business Report writes that the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu) has dropped wage demand at Ceres Fruit Growers (CFG) from 12.5% to 8% in a bid to end the four-week strike that has hit the Western Cape Ceres region.
The strike has put a halt to apple and pear exports to Europe and has aggravated fears that it could lead to violence, similar to what happened during the 2012 farmworkers’ strike in the province. Fawu spokesman Meshack Ntechane said the union had received a mandate from its 1,200 striking members to review their wage demand, and was planning a march today to the CFG’s offices and the Department of Labour to back up the demands. Ntechane said the union’s willingness to settle depended on the company responding to their revised demand and added: “We are willing to put the strike behind us and start working on the exports.” The chairman of CFG, Pieter Graaff, said the region was losing millions in export revenue as a result of the strike. A police spokesperson said yesterday that they had arrested almost 20 people for public violence and arson. He added that the situation has been restored to normal in the area.
Source: SA Labour News
