[DEBATE] : FAWU calls for secondary strikes and consumer boycott of Iwisa and Blue Ribbon products

[Dominic Tweedie]

Food & Allied Workers Union
Vuyisile Mini Centre, Cnr NY1 and NY 110, Guguletu, 7750 - PO Box 1234
Woodstock, 7915
Tel (021) 637 9040, Fax (021) 637 9190 - E-mail: Dominique-fawu at telkomsa.net
<mailto:Dominique-fawu at telkomsa.net>

HEAD OFFICE


Press Release, Thursday March 8, 2007, for immediate attention


FAWU calls for secondary strikes and consumer boycott


After three days of national strike action by about 2000 FAWU members, FAWU
will have to resort to a series of secondary strike actions within the
Premier Foods group, including but not limited to Premier milling, as well
as in the value chain associated with Premier, such as the grain silos and
the retailers. To this effect, we will ask our sister union, SACCAWU, a
COSATU affiliate which organizes retail workers, to call on its members to
refuse handling all the Premier Foods products.

Management arrogantly refuses to give in to workers' demand for a national
bargaining forum in its baking division. This follows a period of about nine
years of pursuing this company to restore this form of centralized
bargaining system since they unilaterally cancelled it in 1997. We ran out
of patience when the company could not respect the advisory award issued by
Commissioner from the CCMA, which award confirms the legitimate demand of
the union in October last year.

Recently, management has shown nothing but contempt for their striking
employees, refusing them access to simple things such as water and toilet
facilities during picketing in some plants in complete disregard to the
spirit and letter of labor laws.

Just yesterday, 300 Striking members at the Salt River plant in Cape Town
have been intimidated by police as management called in about 10 police vans
to scare workers.

Although we are aware that management are making use of scab labor since
yesterday, we are quite confident they cannot deliver the high standard of
bread that our members are used to producing. In any case, it is being
reported that some Shoprite and Pick 'n Pay stores are already running out
of Blue Ribbon bread. In fact, we are formally calling on all citizens of
our country to boycott all the Premier Foods products, such as Iwisa
mealiemeal, and particularly the Blue Ribbon branded bread products.


For more information please contact General Secretary Katishi Masemola on
082 467 2509.
Released by FAWU media office, Dominique Swartz @ 082 498 5631

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