South Africa: Pick ‘n Pay Workers Ready to Strike Over Pay Cuts

Pick ‘n Pay workers are ready to strike. The South African Commercial Catering and Allied Workers Union (SACCAWU) trade union says the supermarket wants to cut 22,000 jobs.

The union says Pick ‘n Pay is trying to strip workers of their hard-earned benefits. They say the shop wants to stop paying for late-night transport and cheap staff meals.

The union also claims the shop wants to cancel Sunday bonus pay and 13th cheques for full-time workers.

Union spokesperson Sithembele Tshwete told Business Report that Pick ‘n Pay ambushed them in a meeting. He said bosses demanded that the union sign a secret agreement and accept the massive cuts immediately.

“If it means that we have to go out on the streets, we’ll go out on the streets,” Tshwete said.

Pick n Pay sent formal legal notices to workers last week. The shop is losing money and trying to turn its business around after closing several stores and freezing salaries. It expects its financial losses to get much worse by 2026.

The supermarket denies that it plans to fire 22,000 workers. Pick n Pay says it only sent the legal letters to discuss changing the way the business runs.

CEO Sean Summers says Pick n Pay treats its staff much better than rival shops. He wants to change work rosters so full-time staff work on weekends.

But the union is angry. SACCAWU says the shop is trying to fix its terrible share price by squeezing money out of poor workers.

They say Pick n Pay broke the rules by sending the legal letters directly to workers instead of talking to the union first.

The union will hold a press conference in Johannesburg on Monday to fight the plans.

By Scrolla.