"South Africa: Striking Clover Workers to Get Overdue Bonuses By Friday", 11 January 2021

Workers have welcomed a promise by Clover SA to pay overdue bonuses as a win in the ongoing dispute between the company and workers.

This follows a picket by hundreds of workers affiliated to the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) in Johannesburg...in solidarity with striking Clover workers. Members of the Food and Allied Workers' Union (FAWU) and the General Industrial Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA) also attended.

...SAFTU spokesperson Trevor Shaku told GroundUp that workers are usually paid their annual 13th cheque by 25 November, but this had not happened.

Shaku said workers managed to secure an agreement with the company at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration on Monday that their overdue bonuses would be paid by no later than Friday, 14 January.

Clover workers across the country have been on strike for eight weeks...

The unions have also rejected a proposal to cut wages by 20%. They instead demand a 10% increase.

SAFTU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said that about 1,600 workers were retrenched at Clover during 2021. A further 800 workers are expected to be retrenched by February, he said...