Cape Town - Trade unions in Ashton have claimed victory over an operation extension of Langeberg and Ashton Foods (LAF), saying 7 500 jobs will be sustained for another year.
Retrenchment proceedings loomed for those working at the largest canning factory in Africa, after Tiger Consumer Brands Ltd said it could not find a buyer.
Trade Union Federation Cosatu provincial secretary, Malvern De Bruyn said unions managed to negotiate with Tiger Brands to keep the canning plant open for 12 months.
He said the time will be used to secure a buyer, and to transform the company.
“This great victory of the unions has secured the nearly 7 500 jobs linked to the value chains in the area, to remain and not be lost through the closure.
“We want to thank the national government through DTIC and DAFF and agricultural ministry and the various Development Finance Institutions, for their help. We reluctantly thank Tiger Brands for working with Labour to keep the plant open,” De Bruyn said.
Tiger Brands did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.
Chief negotiator of the Social Development Trade Union, Nosey Pieterse hailed the move, saying the retrenchment process has collapsed.
He said Tiger Brands had failed to find a buyer in two years, and the responsibility was then placed on the unions to find a buyer in two months.
Pieterse said they were confident that a buyer would emerge.
“For us this is a victory, this is the demand we placed on the table right from the onset. We accused them of being grossly unjust to have to find a buyer in 60 days. Now we have 12 months.
“We are involved with seeking a buyer, so we know there is an appetite.
“As unions we have started to reimagine a life without Tiger, which has rejected the workers of Langeberg and pleaded poverty. They are saying ‘L&A does not fit into the Tiger Brand’, that is what they are saying,” Pieterse said.
Among the steps that the unions took were to work with the National Farmers Association, AgriSA to raise matters publicly and politically; engage Tiger Brands directly about the need to stop the closure; and identify alternatives to closure.
De Bruyn added: “Cosatu believes this is an important agreement and would urge the various levels of government to support the community and workers to get a share in the company. In this regard the municipality must allow the community and workers to use municipal halls to engage on the solutions needed. The municipality has not been the greatest help and must be held to account for this.”
Cape Times