Leading packaging company Nampak is undergoing a “group restructuring project” that organised labour fears will result in massive job losses as the plan revolves around the company expanding its business outside the country.
The company has employed the services of discredited consulting firm Bain & Company for the restructuring.
Bain has been at the centre of questionable restructuring exercises, especially at the SA Revenue Service (Sars), which led to its managing partner Vittorio Massone stepping down from day-to-day operations after revealing at the Nugent Commission of Inquiry that he had met axed Sars commissioner Tom Moyane to discuss the institution a year before Moyane became commissioner.
For Massone’s trouble, Bain was suspended with immediate effect by Business Leadership SA (BLSA).
In a memorandum signed on behalf of all unions represented at Nampak by National Union of Metalworkers of SA general secretary Irvin Jim, several damning allegations were made.
The unions demanded that “in the absence of any agreement with labour, the company refrain from further disposals, transfers or closures of any part of its current business, including but not limited to Megapak and Nampak Glass”.
They insisted that “labour is not prepared to sit by and accept this gradual eradication of jobs in South Africa”, and that the company’s chief executive, Andre de Ruyter, be replaced.
The memorandum alleged racist practices were undertaken at the company, and said the workforce had appropriate skills. “Management continues to blame underperformance on a lack of skills,” it said.
“However, workers, in actual fact, have the skills.
“They have applied these skills to deliver expected performance historically at different times. In fact workers believe the skills gap exists at the management level.”
The workers accused company executive Christiaan Burmeister, who was recently promoted, and to whom a black executive, William Mkhabela, reported, of incompetence.
“Managers are not held accountable for underperformance,” the memorandum read.
In it, Burmeister was accused of “destroying” a division he previously worked for.
When these allegations were put to him, De Ruyter charged that the memorandum contained “a number of allegations from unattributed sources which are inaccurate, spurious and potentially libellous”.
“It is not, and never has been, Nampak’s policy nor practice to embark on restructuring plans which impact unionised employees without appropriate union consultation in accordance with our obligations under law,” he said.
But the workers wanted to know why De Ruyter was holding talks with Bain, “which has destroyed Sars, instead of talking to us”.
On Bain, De Ruyter said: “If and when the company employs advisors for a variety of reasons, the choice is made with considered due diligence and in line with good corporate governance.
“Employees are aware that if they have queries relating to the financial results of the company, they are free to raise these with management through appropriate channels,” he added.
In a statement announcing it was taking steps to suspend Bain, the BLSA said it was being done in line with its “anti-corruption oath”.
The unions also demanded that Nampak “provides clarity concerning all external consulting companies, past and present, that are reviewing Nampak operations”.