Cape Town - Workers, fruit farmers and suppliers to the Tiger Brands’ Langeberg and Ashton fruit canning factory have achieved temporary relief with the postponement of the closure of the plant for a year during which the search for a buyer will be intensified.
Cosatu Western Cape provincial secretary Malvern De Bruyn said the various unions organised at Langeberg and Ashton Foods (LAF) “forced Tiger Brands to keep the canning plant open for 12 months and save nearly 7 500 jobs linked to the value chains in the area”.
He said the farmers in the area were working with the unions to find lasting solutions but warned them that workers wanted a new ownership model that would include workers and communities and that had decent work provisions.
De Bruyn said while no buyer for the plant had been secured yet, “the time will be used by the parties to find a buyer and to transform the company for the future”.
“This is a great victory for the unions,” he said.
Last month, Premier Alan Winde accompanied by his MECs of Agriculture and Finance and Economic Opportunities as well as officials from Wesgro, met with executives from Tiger Brands to receive an update on the future of the plant.
Winde said that at the meeting they were told that a process was under way to sell the business so that its operations could continue and that Tiger Brands wanted any potential buyers to demonstrate that they had sufficient working capital to keep the cannery operating as a going concern.
On Tuesday, Tiger Brands chief executive Noel Doyle said, “in recent weeks, a significant number of parties have expressed an interest in further discussions on the possible acquisition of LAF”.
However, Doyle said the conclusion of any transaction would not have taken place in time for any successful buyer to put the required preparations in place to process the upcoming 2022/3 season’s crop.
He said the company agreed to extend operations for a season after a compact was agreed upon with organised labour, LAF employees and members of the Canning Fruit Producers Association.
Doyle said it was the agreement that allowed the company to undertake the significant risk required to operate the business for the forthcoming season.
AgriSA chief executive Christo van der Rheede said the decision to keep the factory open was a vital reprieve for the sector and for the communities that rely on the facility for their livelihoods.
He said in addition to the 4 550 workers at the factory, the extension would secure the livelihoods of the farmers, more than 2 000 permanent workers, and countless seasonal workers that also depend on the facility.
Van der Rheede said the threat was not over as the reprieve was only temporary and that it was essential that the national and provincial governments support the producers and workers to find an effective solution.
“R200 million to R300m is a significant investment, and the consortium seeking to save the factory will require support to secure this funding.”