Forum demands permanent employment for Kraaifontein workers

Members of the Simunye Workers Forum and its alliance partners took part in a protest outside the offices of CHEP Kraaifontein on Thursday, December 4, calling for the permanent employment of long-term contract workers.

Protesters also handed over a list of demands, which included wage increases, medical aid, a housing allowance, a share scheme, study assistance, and branded personal protective equipment.

According to protest convenor Nomacebo Mbayo, the action followed similar demonstrations by CHEP workers in Johannesburg.

“We, today, are on a national action. The picket is not only here in Cape Town. There is a picket in Johannesburg and many places where we have CHEP and have workers who have reported this to Simunye. The workers want to be heard, and they want their demands to be received,” she said.

She added that many of the workers who complained to the forum have been employed as casual labourers for more than a decade through a labour broker.

Although no CHEP representative came out to receive the memorandum of demands, Imvula Quality Protection area manager Reginald Cleophas, whose company provides security services to CHEP, signed the document on the company’s behalf.

Several attempts to get a comment from CHEP Kraaifontein were unsuccessful.

Ms Mbayo said: “The management, which we wrote an email early Monday morning, phoned me and said they were looking at the email. Today, they are refusing to come out and receive the memorandum. 

“Instead of coming out and receiving the memorandum, we got here and found private security to fight people who are demonstrating. The protesters are not happy.”    

Naomi Betana, of the Witzenberg Justice Coalition, said they came all the way to support the protest by their alliance partner.

CHEP South Africa provides shared and reusable pallets, crates, and containers to manufacturers and retailers through a pooling logistics model.