Woolies staff face retrenchment

230909 Woolworths in woodmead.photo by Simphiwe Mbokazi

230909 Woolworths in woodmead.photo by Simphiwe Mbokazi

Published Aug 27, 2012

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KwaZulu-Natal - Nearly 600 Woolworths workers face retrenchment or early retirement if they chose not to take up new flexible-hour work contracts, the retailer said at the weekend.

Woolworths human resource officers visited stores in KwaZulu-Natal last week to meet fixed shift staff to tell them they would be switched over to flexible shifts to accommodate the company’s 365-days-a-year trading policy.

About 3 percent of staff nationwide are on 8am to 5pm fixed-shift, weekday contracts.

The retailer said the employment category of working set hours was created many years ago. Woolworths is trading for longer hours and needs staff to work flexible hours.

The chain has 20 000 permanent employees in 400 stores.

 

Chief operating officer Sam Ngumeni confirmed that some workers would be retrenched, but this would be voluntary.

 

“As part of the ongoing review of our business, and to provide the best service to our customers, we are exploring the opportunity to move away from employment contracts with set hours. Employees working flexible hours, who are permanently employed with benefits, are the most appropriate employment arrangements to meet current and future requirements of Woolworths,” said Ngumeni.

The affected workers have been given three options: work flexible hours; leave with a voluntary severance payment; or over 50s take early retirement.

“Those employees who retire shortly will be provided with the opportunity to be paid as normal, while not working until they retire.”

The SA Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers’ Union spokesman Matthew Ndlovu, said this was being done without union involvement. - The Mercury

 

Update 3:30pm

Woolworths provided IOL with the following statement to clarify its position: 

Woolworths is in discussions with a group of employees regarding the increasing need for longer trading hours.

Why?

We introduced permanent contracts stipulating flexible working hours in 2002 to accommodate changing market needs for longer trading hours, trading over weekends and on public holidays. 97% of our store employees are currently on these permanent contracts with flexible working hours.

3% of our store employees are on contracts that stipulate set, inflexible working hours. (These contracts are older. From a time when set working hours were still the norm for the industry and stores were closed on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.). 

We are in discussions with this 3% of store employees, with a desire to move them to the permanent contracts with flexible working hours introduced in 2002 (which we prefer).

The voluntary discussions initiated by Woolworths present the 593 affected employees with a number of options:

Change to a permanent contract, with flexible hours, i.e. the type introduced in 2002. This option also carries the benefit of a conversion payment. (This is our preferred option),

There is an option for employees who are over 50 to take early retirement with an additional severance package.

 

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