Blue Shirt Bakery employees go on strike
Workers at Blue Shirt Bakery in Springs went on strike outside the bakery on Main Reef Road yesterday morning.
The strike was incited by workers demanding a 15% wage increase, as well as a provident fund.
Workers claim they have been requesting the fund and an increase for three years now, to no avail.
Congregated and Allied Workers Union of South Africa (CAWSA) organiser Paul Sithole (48) claims he has discussed these issues with The Blue Shirt Bakery Management.
Workers are also complaining about the short hours they work.
Melita Motaung (28), who has been with the bakery for over ten years, is not happy.
“We work an average of five hours a day, which means we get paid peanuts,” she says.
It is alleged management refuses to give workers an increase because they claim the bakery is bankrupt.
Another worker Fikile Guba (29) claims their employer pays them according to production, instead of paying them per hour.
“I am very angry that we have to resort to a strike to get what we deserve,”says Guba.
Workers returned to picket outside the bakery on Tuesday morning, and police were on the scene to monitor the situation.
The manager of Blue Shirt Bakery, Gys Olivier, declined to comment.
