Dis-Chem agrees with union to end workers’ strike

DIS-CHEM pharmacies said yesterday that it had reached a satisfactory agreement with the workers’ union to end a week-long strike at its outlets.

This comes after workers affiliated to the National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (Nupsaw) last week went on a countrywide strike at Dis-Chem pharmacies over the recognition of their union’s organisational rights.

Dis-Chem group chief executive, Ivan Saltzman, said: “The agreement reached allows Nupsaw organisational rights at the appropriate level of workforce representation, which is aligned with those that are in existence with Dis-Chem’s various other unions.”

Saltzman said trading and operations at Dis-Chem’s 131 stores remain unaffected.

Nupsaw, an affiliate of the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), was demanding union organisational rights at the pharmacies, and had a disagreement on decisions relating to discretionary bonus payments to a portion of its members in December 2017.

At the height of the strike, approximately 760 employees protested at the Dis-Chem distribution centre and head office in Midrand, Johannesburg. The strike had a limited effect on Dis-Chem distribution centre operations for the last seven days, though trading operations at its 131 stores remained affected.

The dispute between Nupsaw and Dis-Chem had been referred to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) in December 2017, but the matter remained unresolved. A certificate of non-resolution concerning organisational rights was then issued by the CCMA commissioner.

– Nampa-ANA