South Africa Union Threatens Strike Over Wal-Mart, Massmart
May 31 2011 - 1:32PM
Dow Jones News
South Africa's largest union, COSATU, threatened to strike if
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) doesn't agree to discuss local
purchasing agreements following the approval from the Competition
Tribunal to buy a 51% stake in South African retailer Massmart, it
said Tuesday.
The tribunal approved the proposed $2.4 billion merger but said
Wal-Mart and Massmart should continue to recognize the collective
bargaining rights of the unions for the next three years; make no
retrenchments for the two years following the merger; and, provided
a 100 million rand ($14.5 million) fund is sufficient to help local
industry, learn about the supply chain process.
The tribunal avoided enforcing local purchasing quotas on the
merged entity, which the unions had advocated.
"COSATU has never opposed foreign investment into South Africa,
particularly if it leads to the creation of new, decent jobs," the
union said. "Walmart however is more likely to destroy jobs, by
using its competitive advantage to force its competitors out of
business, and destroying South African manufacturing businesses,
which will not be able to compete with a flood of cheap imports
produced in sweat shops by non-union workers or in developed
countries which protect their manufacturers with massive subsidies
and tariffs."
The Congress of South African Trade Unions said it will discuss
a campaign of mass action, which will take the form of marches,
demonstrations, pickets and stay-ways, at its committee meeting in
late June.
-By Devon Maylie, Dow Jones Newswires; +27 (11) 783 7848;
devon.maylie@dowjones.com