Cape Town - Officials of top fishing company Oceana were forced to collect a memorandum of demands when more than 100 angry protestors rocked up in front of their head office in Foreshore on Wednesday.
The group who gathered under the banner of ‘Concerned Oceana Empowerment Trust Beneficiaries Forum (COETBF) warned if the company does not respond within 10 days they would come back with a larger crowd.
OET Trustees allegedly used black employees to gain fishing rights and fraudulently registered and transferred employees’ shares to themselves as the beneficial owners of all employee beneficiary shares.
While employees were allegedly misled by the company when amendments were made to OET’s Trust Deed, some employees were also short-changed at the time of payout while others received nothing at all.
COETBF’s Samuel Williams, who handed the memorandum of demands to Oceana director Jillian Marais, argued that they have been waiting for their money for more than 10 years and felt cheated out of their shares.
“We want answers, our money, proof of the loan agreements, and payments that were made by the trust.
“If our demands are not met, we will be back with more employees who were cheated and misled by Oceana.”
OET chairperson Jayesh Jaga said the Trust strongly supports the right of people to protest, however, “both Oceana and OET must categorically state that the Forum's allegations are completely unfounded and without any merit.
“The Trust is disappointed that the Forum thought it proper to raise their concerns in this manner, especially since they have not honoured the Trust's invitations to engage meaningfully and in-person on their queries.
“The Trust has extended a further invitation to the Forum, with a meeting set to take place in the coming days and remains committed to engaging with all beneficiaries, including the Forum, to address any matters relating to the Trust.”