JOHANNESBURG - The Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu) said it was concerned by the events unfolding at Steinhoff, as thousands of their members work for companies that are owned by the Steinhoff group.
These include companies such as Pepclo, Dunns, Shoe City, Pep Stores and Ackermans (under Steinhoff) and Deslee Mattex and Feltex (under KAP Industrial Holdings in which Steinhoff International is a major shareholder).
The Cosatu-affiliated union said in a statement it was deeply concerned about the implications the matter could have on their members.
"We have today written to Jayendra Naidoo, the chairperson of Steinhoff African Retail (which employs many of our members) and also a board member of Steinhoff International, and Pieter Erasmus, part of the leadership at Steinhoff International who have replaced the previous CEO, to call for an urgent meeting in order for us to be briefed on the implications of these recent developments on our members," Sactwu said in a statement.
Former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste. File Image: IOL
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"Sactwu will do everything in its power to ensure that the interests and job security of our members are under no circumstances jeopardised in any manner whatsoever," the statement concluded.
More than R100 billion was wiped off the value of Steinhoff International when its share price plunged more than 60% on the JSE on Wednesday.
This after chief executive Markus Jooste quit following the group’s admission of accounting irregularities.
The share price closed at R45.65 on the JSE on Tuesday and hit a low of R13.50 on Wednesday before closing 61.42% down at R17.61.
In an effort to limit the damage, the global retailer with more than 40 local brands in over 30 countries - including UK’s Poundland and South Africa’s Pep - has approached PwC to perform an independent investigation.