Cape Town - Close to 200 workers at one of South Africa's leading manufacturers of vitamins and mineral supplements have gone on a wage strike, an action that has affected production at Vital Health Foods.
Talks between the parties reached a deadlock again today with management saying it did not see a need to meet until there was a change in the union's mandate as the company was not in a position to adjust its offer.
The workers are demanding a 10 % salary increase and a guaranteed 13th cheque for the next 10 years.
On Wednesday the company revised its earlier salary wage increase offer from 6% to 6,5 % and is offering a guaranteed 13th cheque for the next two years.
The strike action comes just a few months after the company had gone public about a soaring demand and sales in its products during Covid-19
A worker at the plant said : "The demands are not unreasonable considering the fact that the financial profits of the pharmaceutical industry grew exponentially in 2020. Vital Health did not close down during Covid-19 - the workers worked throughout and contributed to its huge profits..
Trade union UASA's official Johan Steyn said the union had made concessions at the mediation process, but the company was not willing to move, hence workers embarked on a strike action.
Workers said although the strike action had officially started from late afternoon on Monday, the company moved to close the plant for two days.
They maintained that no meaningful work had resumed on Thursday as the company was using casual workers, most of whom had been with the company for about three months.
However, chief executive Justin Williamson said the strike action had "little impact" and most of the operations were running normally albeit on a single shift.
Williamson said the company offer was "as far as it can go" and currently the parties were further away from an agreement.
In an advertorial in a newspapers in February, the company said it had seen a dramatic increase in the sales of Vitamin C and zinc mineral supplements during the Covid-19 as these were regarded as first-line defence against the virus.
Williamson said at the time that vitamin C sales soared by 450% and zinc by 300% by mid-January 2021. Sales of over-the-counter multivitamins also grew by 100%.“These sales pushed the overall growth of the sector, despite sales of other products remaining static," Wiliamson was quoted adding that "We need to face the possibility that Covid-19 in various forms will be with us for some time, which means that the role of supplements to help strengthen our immune systems has become more critical than ever."
On Thursday he said sales in March and April 2021 compared to the same period in 2020 had declined by 30 % as the Covid-infection rate also declined.The striking workers vowed to continue with the action until a resolution was found.