Three-day strike at Makro ends, but union warns of further action

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Despite their strike at Makro ending over the weekend, the South African Commercial, Catering, and Allied Workers' Union (Saccawu) says it is not budging from its wage demands from the wholesale giant, which has now been given a 48-hour deadline to respond to wage demands or face further industrial action.

The limited-duration strike came to an end on Saturday, but the union handed over a memorandum of demands at sites, including Makro's store in Ottery, Cape Town, on Monday.

The union is demanding an across-the-board increase of R900 or 12%, whichever is the greater, a minimum wage of R8 000, a 20% commission margin for salespersons, a 13th cheque separate from the December salary, and a moratorium on retrenchments.

READ | Makro faces indefinite strike as union demands 12% wage hike

Saccawu said the refusal to meet its demands will force the union to intensify its strike with rolling mass action and a consumer boycott. Massmart, the parent company of Makro, maintained the wage and commission demands were unrealistic, offering a 4.5% increase.

The memorandum stuck to the wage demands that the unions made ahead of their three-day strike. However, Massmart senior vice-president of corporate affairs Brian Leroni said Makro remained prepared for future strike action and had identified specific areas for efficiency improvements.

"For the most part, our staffing contingency plans worked and, in fact, got better as the strike progressed and temporary staff became even more familiar with their duties. In a few selected stores, we identified opportunities to increase the number of temporary staff and to conduct reinforcement training and have made arrangements to do this starting today," said Leroni.

READ | Union to strike at Makro as wage dispute drags on

Leroni said Makro experienced normal month-end customer demand, albeit with a shift to more online transactions. "Interestingly, online product picking productivity in Makro stores increased during the strike. This was an area that was mostly resourced by back-up temporary staff," he said.