Foskor engages with North Coast Workers’ Forum following protest
While the protest did not cause any major disruptions to production, Foskor said it is working to ensure the incident does not re-occur
FOSKOR says it will be engaging with the North Coast Workers’ Forum (NCWF) to address issues raised by unemployed community members who protested outside the plant recently.
The group of community members affiliated to the forum blocked the entrance to Foskor in Richards Bay, demanding employment opportunities and contract work ahead of the annual scheduled maintenance operation.
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While the protest did not cause any major disruptions to production, Foskor said it is working to ensure the incident does not re-occur.
‘There were minimal disruptions but the situation was immediately controlled and employees managed to get back to work after the crowd was dispersed,’ said Foskor Group Manager for Corporate Affairs, Hulisani Nemaxwi.
‘Foskor is engaging with NCWF leadership to prevent such disruptions in the future.’
He said the company is committed to ensuring that local people are considered where there are jobs available directly through contractors.
‘Foskor is, however, currently not doing any recruitment.
‘We are also not having the usual annual shut as we previously did due to operational reasons.
‘We also encourage our contractors to hire local people as it is the right sustainable practice to do,’ he said.
NCWF Director, Wiseman Ndlovu, said the protest stems from unanswered grievances raised during their protest last year.
‘In November last year we requested Foskor to transform in terms of their procurement and recruitment processes, which they agreed to address.
‘However, they have not complied nor did they provide a progress report on the promises they had made.
‘Therefore, when we could not provide proper feedback to community members as a result of the company’s lack of response, they decided to march to Foskor,’ said Ndlovu.
He said the company has, however, vowed to meet with them on Tuesday to address their grievances and to find a way forward.
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