Johannesburg, 5 November 2013:
The South African Breweries (SAB) has welcomed the strike settlement agreement reached last night with the Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU) which brings to an end the strike which has been under way at some of the company’s operations.
SAB MD Mauricio Leyva says: “We are most pleased that we have reached an agreement with FAWU which ends the strike at SAB. We will now focus on welcoming those employees who went on strike back to work, ensuring that we fully normalise our operations and developing our future relationship with the union.”
The agreement means that the company’s average wage increase of 7% with performance related pay will be implemented, which will raise the average monthly pay for shift workers by R1 196 to R18 283. SAB continues to be one of the highest paying employers in the fast moving consumer goods industry and in the country.
SAB and FAWU have agreed that all salaries and wages for bargaining unit employees will be backdated to 1st July 2013. However, the principle of “no work, no pay” will apply for the duration of the strike.
“I was proud of the resilience of the majority of our employees during this difficult period who worked together to ensure the impact on our operations was minimised. However, there are no winners during a strike which has taken a toll on all of us – those who continued working, those who went out on strike, the union as well as the company.
“We will ensure that all of our employees are engaged and supported as we bring people back to work and resume normal operations, ” said Leyva.
