Ford Motor Company in Silverton, Tshwane went to the Labour Court on Thursday to interdict the strike that has been embarked upon by its employees on Thursday morning.
More than 3000 workers of the company, who belong to the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) joined the strike and started picketing at the company’s offices in Silverton on Thursday morning.
NUMSA announced that it will be going to the Labour Court on Thursday to challenge Ford Motor Company’s attempt to get the Labour Court to declare the strike illegal.
According to NUMSA, the strike Centres around Ford Motor Company’s management to share profits with the workers.
NUMSA President Andrew Chirwa highlighted other issues which the workers are faced with at Ford Motor Company on a daily basis.
Chirwa said workers are forced to seek permission when they need to go to the toilet, those among them who are pregnant are frowned upon, workers are not allowed to use their own cellphones at work, those that are liked by the management are not charged even when they are wrong while those that are disliked by management are charged for offences even when they are not wrong and get dismissed.
He pointed out that there is a culture of targeting workers and dismissing them, then replacing them with Indians.
“In prison conditions are better than here at Ford Motor Company because there is free food and drinks in prison, while here at Ford Company you are in prison, yet you are supposed to be at work,” fumed Chirwa.
He mentioned heads of argument as presented to the Labour Court by Ford Motor Company as reasons to stop the strike.
Some of those heads of argument are as follows:
1. Workers are not entitled to profit-sharing.
2. Workers must make demand for profit-sharing at National Bargaining Forum next year.
3. The company produces 720 vehicles a day and the strike will lead to losses of around R 7,2 million a day.
4. The strike will be a huge threat to investment in South Africa by foreign companies.
5. The strike is illegal according to clause 8.3 of the National Bargain Forum agreement.
6. Profit-sharing is a reward and not a right a cording to the 2012 wage negotiations agreement.
Chirwa announced that Ford Company went to the Labour Court to try and confuse the presiding judge regarding incentive and profit-sharing, but the Union’s lawyers have detected this misleading strategy and will counter it.
He stressed that employers are accusing workers of being greedy, yet they (employers) are the ones who are greedy and keep on earning salaries when workers are on strike.
Chirwa pointed out that going on strike is legal according to the country’s Constitution and we’re workers have the right to strike when they are not happy with working conditions.
He accused the company’s Human Resources Manager of being a lunatic who has lost the proverbial plot.
He said the HR Manager suffers from self-hatred as an African person and the suffering of the workers reminds her of who she really is, which is something that she wants to deny.
Chirwa advised the striking workers not to be intimidated by SMSes, letters and threàts that the company will send to them.
He said everything depended on the outcome of the court interdict which shall first be discussed with workers on Friday morning to decide the way forward.
Another leader of the striking workers expressed disappointment that the company’s management has closed gates for the workers, thus forcing them to meet outside the premises of the company.
City of Tshwane Metro Police and the SAPS and private security companies were at the gates of the company to monitor the situation.
The workers’ leader said the company is out of order in this regard and must prepare warning letters to itself and fire itself.
The striking workers will meet again on Friday at 8am to discuss the outcome of the aforesaid court interdict.
The last time NUMSA members went on strike at the Ford Motor Company was in 2012.