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Sun International employees to protest across the country
October 2, 2009
About 3 500 Sun International employees are expected to protest around the country on Friday, the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (Saccawu) said.
"We are expecting workers to picket outside the various Sun International hotels in the country, demanding better wages and working conditions," said union spokesman Ivan Molefe.
Employees will picket at the following hotels: Wild Coast Sun in Port Edward, Boardwalk in Port Elizabeth, Flamingo in Kimberly, and at the Windmill in Bloemfontein.
The demands from Sun International were that the company grant workers an increase of 13 percent effective from July 1, but the company was offering workers an 8 percent increase.
"Over the last few years we have seen South Africa becoming one of the top attractions for tourists, both for leisure, sporting events and conferences."
"Despite the economic downturn the company has shown remarkable expansion and growth in profits, yet workers have to turn to the streets to get the company to consider reasonable increases," Molefe said.
The union also demands that the company ensure a ratio of 90 percent --10 percent of full time employees to scheduled employees.
That tips should unconditionally be allocated to workers, and to end the "exploitative" practice of averaging working hours.
There were demands of a night shift allowance of R7 per hour and to end labour broking and the use of interns from hotel schools to undercut working conditions.
In a response to the protest, Sun International said the one day strike was due to a failure in agreement by both parties after mediation from the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
The company said it gave notification in terms of the Labour Relations Act, to Saccawu, reserving its rights to implement a lockout.
"Actual enforcement of the lockout will depend on the conduct of striking workers," the company said in a statement.
Sun International said it received 13 wage demands from the union and meeting the union's initial demands would have amounted to a 49 percent increase on the company's wage bill.
Chief executive, David Coutts-Trotter, said the company was doing "everything possible to minimise disruption to affected operations".
He said the leisure, hospitality and gambling industry were facing challenges.
"We are in a very serious recession indeed," Trotter said.
According to Trotter the group occupancies were down 4 percent for the year and forward bookings are the weakest they have been.
"This sharp decline has not been mitigated by an increase in sporting and other events in South Africa. In fact for the 2009 calendar year to date, both casino and hospitality revenues are below the same period last year."
"Sun International's 8 percent increase across-the-board is 1.6 percent above current CPI."
"We are confident that we will be able to make progress on the issues and find a sustainable settlement to allow the business to consolidate and weather the most serious economic crisis to affect both South Africa and the world in nearly two decades."
Workers would march to Sun International's head office in Johannesburg later on Friday where a memorandum would be handed in. - Sapa
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