FAWU wants a liveable wage for its members
Our workers do not have benefits, they are refused to join Unions, some are even paid on stipends.
THE Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU) says it is disappointed in the attitude of fast-foods and restaurants employers who subject their workers to unbearable working conditions. The Union claims that its workers are refused basic labour and human rights, a living wage, better benefits and improved working conditions. The Union staged a picket at Rick Turner Park, opposite the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) Howard College campus, on Friday.
FAWU President, Atwell Nazo said its demands were simple. “Recognition of the union, decent work and compliance with the Department of Labour and Statutory Council. We hope the managements of restaurants and famous brands will start doing something good for the workers and at some point comply with the Statutory Council of restaurants. As FAWU, at a national level, we have agreed that the plight of workers in these outlets need to be highlighted and brought to the fore. Our workers do not have benefits, they are not allowed to join unions, some are even paid on stipends and getting tips from customers is the only way they get paid. That is the highest form of exploitation in the country,” Nazo said.
“We have to change that by force because employers will not just give in to our demands easily. This [picket] is a starting point, we will be rolling out massive strikes nationally. Societies and communities also need to aware about how workers in these restaurants suffer. They also want a good life like everybody else but with the current salaries they get, it is impossible,” he said.
The union, which has been very vocal about the R3,500 per month minimum wage, claims that since deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa announced the details of the South African National Minimum Wage, which will be set at R20 per hour, earlier this year, some employers have reduced the salaries of those who were earning higher salaries to the minimum wage which government has set. According to government, the minimum wage – which translates to R3,500 per month for workers on a 40 hour week and R3,900 per month for a 45 hour week – will take effect from May 2018. Nazo said the union would also be focusing on the hospitality industry which hires undocumented foreigners because they are easily exploited.
“We urge the Department of Labour to conduct proper inspection, law enforcement, public hearing and monitoring. This is in pursuit of the struggle facing these workers who are defenseless, exploited and who have contributed immensely to the growth of this sector and economy,” he said.
