Cape Town - Workers who downed tools at a County Fair chicken factory in Stellenbosch over wages claim they were fired at with paintball guns while picketing outside the factory.
Workers spent the day picketing outside the County Fair offices in Muldersvlei along the R304 on Monday.
Theo Delport, managing director for the poultry division of Astral Foods, confirmed that workers were on strike and that they were “not happy with what’s on the table”.
“The chicken industry is in crisis at the moment [and is] not performing very well. It’s all about affordability, but it doesn’t help our cause if the [strikers] are damaging property,” Delport said.
Management said they had to count costs to keep head above water.
The workers said they wanted R1 500 a week. They added that they were currently earning about R499 a week after deductions.
“This year we’ve heard nothing about increases. We’ve got nothing and they’ve been quiet,” said one worker who asked not to be named.
She said the strike started last Wednesday, but that operations had not ceased at the factory. She claimed that management had bused in casual staff.
By Monday afternoon, a group of about 100 people sat at the entrance of the factory near the offices along the R304 Klipheuwel Road.
After a while they had started marching slowly, singing and dancing and waving sticks, sjamboks and posters. About four police vehicles were parked close by and officers stayed close to the protesters as they moved towards the offices.
Earlier in the day police stepped in to disperse the crowd, some of whom claimed they were shot at with paint ball guns by the factory’s security.
Delport denied that shots were fired from their security guards.
Cape Argus