Striking truck drivers of Grindrod company have told Tshwane Talks that the management of the company has sent hitmen, commonly known as Inkabi, to threaten them and discourage them from demanding their rights.
The striking workers allege that on 20 March 2024, when they wanted to engage the company in a meeting regarding their demands, the management of the company, under Mohammed Hassim, called hitmen to threaten them.
“The hitmen arrived in a Quantum taxi and several BMW vehicles brandishing guns and told us that they would kill us if we don’t stop the nonsense that we are doing because they have shares in the company, but the truth is they don’t have shares and have in actual fact been hired by the management of the company under Mohammed Hassim to threaten us,” said one of the striking workers who refused to reveal his name to Tshwane Talks.
“We want Mohammed Hassim to step aside because the company fires people from work without following proper procedure,” said another worker.
“Workers get fired on the spot without a hearing or warning letter and get replaced by workers who fall under the control of Indian labour brokers,” he said.
The worker pointed out that it is apparent that Mohammed Hassim, who is an Indian, is trying to build an Indian empire Grindrod.
Besides firing workers unfairly, the company has retrenched several workers on the basis that it is working at a loss, yet the company made a 26% profit in the last financial year,” he said, complaining that large sums of money that should be paid directly to truck drivers for their work ends up in the hands of the Indian labour brokers who in turn pay truck drivers a pittance as wages.
He stressed that Mohammed Hassim’s aim is to ultimately get rid of truck drivers who work directly for Grindrod and replace them with those who have been brought in by the said Indian labour brokers.
Other workers confirmed to Tshwane Talks that a worker would be fired or retrenched in a certain month, then the following month the self-same worker would be recalled and employed again as a worker who now falls under Indian labour brokers and not directly under Grindrod.
They also pointed out that as truck drivers they have all along been forced by the management to work for 28 days a month in a row, instead of the 21 days as per norm but have not been paid for those extra seven days.
They therefore demand back-paid by the company in this regard.
“We want all truck drivers who have been working here at Grindrod for more than a year to be registered as permanent workers and stop being under the control of labour brokers,” said one truck driver who has been working under the control of labour brokers for five years now, pointing out in the process that all top managerial positions at Grandroid were occupied by Indians.
Yet another worker pointed out that Mohammed Hassim was defrauding some truck drivers in that much as they work as truck drivers, he has registered them as general workers and that leads to them earning a lower salary than that which they deserve.
“Workers who are under the control of labour brokers are treated like dirt, and we are calling upon the management of Grandrod to treat all workers equally,” said one worker who has been working at the company since 2006 as he indicated that he was being treated with some respect by the management as he works directly for the company and not for the Indian labour brokers.
Sisonke People’s Forum official Zweli Ndaba told Tshwane Talks that he came to show his support for the striking workers as they have for several months now held fruitless meetings with the management of Grindrod to address the terrible working conditions at the company.
“The workers are saying enough is enough about the abuse that is perpetrated upon them by the company,” said Ndaba as he revealed that a truck driver would work for 24 hours at a stretch and when they try to rest they would get a call commanding them to embark on another assignment.
He pointed out that workers’ status on Facebook is monitored by the company and that as a result workers get fired from their jobs because of what they have posted on Facebook.
Ndaba also raised concern about the fact that the company allows hitmen (Inkabi) to be present at the company’s meetings by pretending to be shareholders.
The workers revealed that last year in September and December they brought operations to a standstill at Grandrod and the main complaint was about Mohammed Hassim’s bullish behaviour, but apparently their complained has not been heeded by the company as Hassim still continues with his arrogant behaviour even now.
“Disciplinary processes are left in the hands of labour brokers who merely rubber-stamp what Mohammed Hassim has already told them to do, which entails dismissing a worker without proper procedure, according to one lady worker who is one of the people that have been dismissed at Grindrod.
“As dismissed workers we have been gathering outside the premises of Grandrod every day for over a month now begging the company to listen to our request to be reinstated to our jobs as we have been dismissed unfairly, but the management would sit at the balcony and laugh at us instead of addressing our concerns,” she said.
“We then decided that we will shut down operations at Grindrod and we are happy that workers who are still working directly for the company as well as those who are working under labour brokers have decided to join us in our efforts to sort out the mess that the company funds itself in regarding labour relations,” she said.
The management of Grindrod refused to speak to Tshwane Talks and advised us to instead call their head office in Durban.
Grindrod is a trucking company based in Johannesburg.
It delivers groceries, wheat, sulfur and fertilizers throughout South Africa and also in neighbouring African states.